“From Beloved Beacon to Forgotten Relic: Unraveling the Astonishing Decline of Howard Johnson’s Empire”
On top of that, he introduced a rather unique at the time idea of a kid’s menu with smaller portions, cheaper prices, and food more tailored for the pallet’s of our little human parasites, as well as making the kid’s menus into things that would help entertain the little ankle biters while their parents ate and talked, such as masks, maps, etc. He also started a birthday club where those that signed up would get a birthday card, which was essentially a gift card for one free meal, a piece of cake, and even balloons at certain locations.
In short, extreme quality and consistency was a hallmark of Howard Johnson’s at this point at every location, and something Howard Johnson himself was obsessed with. Something Pepin would later discuss in depth in his book The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen.
The culmination of all this was a business model and brand that often saw any new Howard Johnson’s location become debt free and profitable within a year of opening- a remarkable feat for any business, let alone a restaurant. Needless to say, the fact the whole thing was more or less idiot proof if one just followed the template exactly made it an extremely attractive business to start if one had the capital to open one. As for the utilization of the franchising model and the success franchise owners were seeing in it, Johnson would state, “This is what I like best. Help a good man to make a go of it himself.”
That said, whenever he had the money or could secure it, Johnson generally did prefer to own any new locations outright for more direct control.
