Archie's Family Restaurants
A short-lived chain based on Archie Comics characters.
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Archie's Family Restaurants was an American restaurant chain built around the characters from Archie Comics. The outside of each location featured a large cutout of Jughead Jones eating a hamburger. The first restaurant opened in 1973 in Joliet, Illinois, at the north-east corner of Hammes and Jefferson (U.S. Route 52).
The chain was developed by BarKo Group, Inc., owned by Barbara Kovacs and Gary Kovacs, after they bought stock in the Archie companies and secured the contract. A second location opened in Merrillville, Indiana, and by May 1974, two more were planned for Matteson and Homewood, Illinois. Within five years, the Kovacs hoped to expand across seven states, but both existing restaurants were badly mismanaged, leading Archie Comics to close them and buy back the stock from BarKo.
Quick Facts
- Parent company
- Archie Enterprises, Inc.
- Operator
- BarKo Group, Inc. (Barbara Kovacs and Gary Kovacs)
- First location opened
- 1973
- First location city
- Joliet, Illinois
- First location address
- North-east corner of Hammes and Jefferson (U.S. Route 52)
- Promotional comic
- "Archie's Restaurant" in Life with Archie #136
Facts from the source article.
Background
The chain's origins trace to around 1972, when Archie Enterprises, Inc.—the parent company of Archie Comics—decided to push further into food service. Barbara Kovacs and Gary Kovacs, the sole owners of the recently formed BarKo Group, Inc., became interested and bought stock in the Archie companies, which led to BarKo receiving the development contract. The first Archie's restaurant opened in 1973 in Joliet, Illinois, on the north-east corner of Hammes and Jefferson (U.S. Route 52).
To promote it, an eight-page promotional comic titled "Archie's Restaurant" was published in the 136th issue of Life with Archie, written by Frank Doyle and illustrated by Harry Lucey. That comic featured two real-life figures: Maurice Berlinsky, then the mayor of Joliet, and Bob Anderson, then the director of First National Bank of Joliet. The Archie's Restaurant storyline also appeared in Everything's Archie issues #26-30 and Pep Comics #280 and #295.
A second restaurant opened in Merrillville, Indiana, and by May 1974, two more were on the drawing boards for Matteson and Homewood, Illinois. Kovacs hoped to open Archie's restaurants throughout Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York within five years. However, the two existing locations were badly mismanaged, prompting Archie Comics to close them down and buy the stock back from BarKo.
More in Regional Restaurant Chains in the United States
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Archie's Family Restaurants (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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