Restaurant and fast food photos, Princeton WV area, 1987
Posted: 28 Apr 2008 13:33
Here are a scans of a couple pages from the 1986-87 yearbook from Concord College in Athens, West Virginia, showing photos of a number of restaurants and fast food joints in the immediate area (click for a larger image):
This is the disposition today of each place illustrated:
Chain restaurants -
Arby's:
Location: Ingleside Road, Princeton, WV
Status: Looks exactly the same today.
Burger King:
Location: Stafford Drive, Princeton, WV
Status: Closed in 2000 or 2001 when a new store opened. The building has since been remodeled beyond recognition into a Tudor's Biscuit World.
Domino's Pizza:
Location: Stafford Drive, Princeton, WV
Status: Briefly became a one-off pizza establishment in 2001, then reverted to Domino's with modern signage. The large logo on the side of the building has long since been painted over.
Gino's Pizza & Spaghetti/Tudor's Biscuit World (both West Virginia-based chains):
Location: State and Vermillion Streets, Athens, WV
Status: Looks mostly the same today, although the roof has been repainted and the "Tudor's Biscuit World" signs have been taken down.
Hardee's (barely visible; the dark rectangular sign visible in the "Western Sizzlin" picture):
Location: Stafford Drive, Princeton, WV
Status: The original orange-on-brown sign was later replaced with a '90s orange-on-blue sign, and later still the Carl's Jr.-style star. The restaurant itself has been remodeled accordingly.
Kentucky Fried Chicken:
Location: Stafford Drive, Princeton, WV
Status: Sign replaced first with the 1991 "KFC" logo, then eventually the 1997 logo; at which point the bucket disappeared. The restaurant itself has been remodeled as well.
Long John Silver's:
Location: Stafford Drive, Princeton, WV
Status: Remodeled in the early-to-mid '90s (at which point the sign was replaced with the italicized logo and the riggings were cut down), and recently remodeled again into a combination A&W/Long John Silver's.
McDonald's (sign barely visible):
Location: Stafford Drive, Princeton, WV
Status: Original '70s/'80s mansard structure demolished and replaced with a new building on the same site in about 1998.
Pizza Hut:
Location: Stafford Drive, Princeton, WV
Status: Looks mostly the same today, although the roof sign is now backlit.
Taco Bell:
Location: Stafford Drive, Princeton, WV (in the outlot of a Kroger greenhouse)
Status: Looks exactly the same today.
Wendy's (sign barely visible):
Location: Courthouse Road, Princeton, WV
Status: Looks exactly the same today.
Western Sizzlin:
Location: Stafford Drive and Ingleside Road, Princeton, WV
Status: Original sign replaced with the modern logo in the mid '90s; the restaurant burned down in 2001. A chinese restaurant now occupies the site.
Western Steer:
Location: Oakvale Road, Princeton, WV (across from a now-demolished Kmart)
Status: Closed in the mid '90s, now a used car lot and showroom (!) The original Western Steer roadside sign frame has been retained.
One-off restaurants (mentioned for the sake of completeness) -
Friday's
Location: Pine Plaza, Stafford Drive, Princeton, WV
Status: Closed by the early '90s.
King's Palace:
Location: Oakvale Road, Princeton, WV
Status: Recently demolished to make room for a new Lowe's store.
Little Venice Pizza:
Location and status: I have no idea where this restaurant even was. It closed by the early '90s, in any case.
Roma III:
Location: Princeton Shopping Center (?), Stafford Drive, Princeton, WV
Status: Moved to a standalone location in 1988; moved again in 2000 or so; now defunct.
Snack Bar/Video Mart:
Location: South State Street, Athens, WV
Status: Closed in roughly 1990; now a beauty salon. Marks from bar stools are still visible on the floor tiles.
Sweet Shop:
Location: Vermillion Street, Athens, WV
Status: Closed (although the menu boards are still visible if you peer through the windows)
Taco Hut:
Location: Route 20, Melrose, WV
Status: Closed in the early '90s; the building has been occupied by a succession of practically a dozen or more buisinesses since then.
So, that's one slice of local retail history from 21 years ago! :-)
This is the disposition today of each place illustrated:
Chain restaurants -
Arby's:
Location: Ingleside Road, Princeton, WV
Status: Looks exactly the same today.
Burger King:
Location: Stafford Drive, Princeton, WV
Status: Closed in 2000 or 2001 when a new store opened. The building has since been remodeled beyond recognition into a Tudor's Biscuit World.
Domino's Pizza:
Location: Stafford Drive, Princeton, WV
Status: Briefly became a one-off pizza establishment in 2001, then reverted to Domino's with modern signage. The large logo on the side of the building has long since been painted over.
Gino's Pizza & Spaghetti/Tudor's Biscuit World (both West Virginia-based chains):
Location: State and Vermillion Streets, Athens, WV
Status: Looks mostly the same today, although the roof has been repainted and the "Tudor's Biscuit World" signs have been taken down.
Hardee's (barely visible; the dark rectangular sign visible in the "Western Sizzlin" picture):
Location: Stafford Drive, Princeton, WV
Status: The original orange-on-brown sign was later replaced with a '90s orange-on-blue sign, and later still the Carl's Jr.-style star. The restaurant itself has been remodeled accordingly.
Kentucky Fried Chicken:
Location: Stafford Drive, Princeton, WV
Status: Sign replaced first with the 1991 "KFC" logo, then eventually the 1997 logo; at which point the bucket disappeared. The restaurant itself has been remodeled as well.
Long John Silver's:
Location: Stafford Drive, Princeton, WV
Status: Remodeled in the early-to-mid '90s (at which point the sign was replaced with the italicized logo and the riggings were cut down), and recently remodeled again into a combination A&W/Long John Silver's.
McDonald's (sign barely visible):
Location: Stafford Drive, Princeton, WV
Status: Original '70s/'80s mansard structure demolished and replaced with a new building on the same site in about 1998.
Pizza Hut:
Location: Stafford Drive, Princeton, WV
Status: Looks mostly the same today, although the roof sign is now backlit.
Taco Bell:
Location: Stafford Drive, Princeton, WV (in the outlot of a Kroger greenhouse)
Status: Looks exactly the same today.
Wendy's (sign barely visible):
Location: Courthouse Road, Princeton, WV
Status: Looks exactly the same today.
Western Sizzlin:
Location: Stafford Drive and Ingleside Road, Princeton, WV
Status: Original sign replaced with the modern logo in the mid '90s; the restaurant burned down in 2001. A chinese restaurant now occupies the site.
Western Steer:
Location: Oakvale Road, Princeton, WV (across from a now-demolished Kmart)
Status: Closed in the mid '90s, now a used car lot and showroom (!) The original Western Steer roadside sign frame has been retained.
One-off restaurants (mentioned for the sake of completeness) -
Friday's
Location: Pine Plaza, Stafford Drive, Princeton, WV
Status: Closed by the early '90s.
King's Palace:
Location: Oakvale Road, Princeton, WV
Status: Recently demolished to make room for a new Lowe's store.
Little Venice Pizza:
Location and status: I have no idea where this restaurant even was. It closed by the early '90s, in any case.
Roma III:
Location: Princeton Shopping Center (?), Stafford Drive, Princeton, WV
Status: Moved to a standalone location in 1988; moved again in 2000 or so; now defunct.
Snack Bar/Video Mart:
Location: South State Street, Athens, WV
Status: Closed in roughly 1990; now a beauty salon. Marks from bar stools are still visible on the floor tiles.
Sweet Shop:
Location: Vermillion Street, Athens, WV
Status: Closed (although the menu boards are still visible if you peer through the windows)
Taco Hut:
Location: Route 20, Melrose, WV
Status: Closed in the early '90s; the building has been occupied by a succession of practically a dozen or more buisinesses since then.
So, that's one slice of local retail history from 21 years ago! :-)