Shoney’s

Shoney’s traces its roots to 1947, when Alex Schoenbaum opened a small drive-in called the Parkette in Charleston, West Virginia, before rebranding and growing into a franchise operator of the Big Boy hamburger chain. ¹ The company eventually split off on its own in 1977 and became a Southern institution, famous for its all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet, which debuted in 1982 and grew to feature dozens of items alongside staples like grits, hush puppies, and country-fried steak. At its peak in 1998, Shoney’s operated around 1,300 restaurants across 34 states.

The decline set in quickly after that peak. In 1999’s third quarter alone, the chain posted a net loss of $17.5 million, prompting it to close or sell 239 locations between 1998 and 1999. ² Rapid expansion had left the company stretched thin, with mounting debt reaching $255 million, nearly driving the brand into bankruptcy, while frequent ownership changes only deepened the slide. Allegations of mismanagement and a well-publicized racial discrimination lawsuit against the company and its board further tarnished its reputation. A 2007 change in leadership under David Davoudpour tried to revive the brand with fresher food and modernized locations, but the chain never recovered its former scale.

Today, only about 50 Shoney’s locations remain, concentrated in states from Oklahoma eastward, a small fraction of its late-’90s footprint. ²