40 Closed Restaurant Chains We Wish Were Still Open

One of the most amazing things about America is its diversity of cuisine. In addition to ethnic foods of all types, the U.S. has a history of self-founded restaurants. Some become successes and spawn entire empires that are still going strong today.

And then there are others that maybe had some early success, caught fire but then eventually flamed out — whether it took many decades or even less than two years (as you’ll see).

Unlike old TV shows, which seemingly live forever online, once restaurant chains disappear, they’re gone for good. Here are 40 of the closed chains we miss the most.

Headquartered: Miami Beach, Florida

Started in: 1956

Closed in: 1982

Lum’s began life as a hot dog stand but quickly expanded over the 1960s to the point that it owned Caesar’s Palace (yes, the iconic Las Vegas casino) by 1969. 

Its signature item was beer-steamed hot dogs, and by the 1970s, Lum’s was doing so well that Kentucky Fried Chicken wanted a piece of pie and further expanded operations across the country. However, while KFC flourished, Lum’s popularity began to decrease.  

A Swiss company purchased Lum’s in the late 1970s, but it had bitten off more than it could chew, and Lum’s filed for bankruptcy in 1982. The last location closed in 2017. 

Headquartered: Syracuse, New York 

Started in: 1960

Closed in: Mid-1970s

Carrols was an upstate New York favorite that people still reminisce about to this day.

The small chain was known for its Club Burger (a precursor to the Big Mac) and its Looney Tunes drinking glasses that were part of a standard order with a large drink. 

As popular as Carrols was, it could not compete in the burger wars. Burger King bought all the Carrols restaurants by the mid-1970s. However, the Carrols Restaurant Group still exists and franchises most of the Burger King and Popeye’s restaurants in the U.S.