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Mr quick menu6/26/2023 ![]() Henry’s Hamburgers operates out of a nondescript modern building, constructed in the past twenty years. After taking a moment to appreciate the vintage neon sign out front, I walked in the building and was immediately struck by its blandness. I stopped by the lone Henry’s for a burger and fries. (The last few Bressler’s ice cream parlors were rebranded by their parent company in 2007.) Locations gradually closed, leaving just the Benton Harbor location left. They chain enjoyed similar success in the Midwest, peaking in the early sixties with around 200 locations, which the Henry’s Hamburgers website points out was “more stores than MacDonald’s (sic) at the time!” Like the other McDonald’s imitators, Henry’s struggled in the seventies, and Bresslers was eventually acquired by a series of different owners who appear to have abandoned the Henry’s brand. The Henry’s Hamburgers venture was started with the explicit goal of competing with McDonald’s. Henry’s was a subsidiary of the Bressler’s Ice Cream company, which operated a chain of ice cream parlors. (I also need to go back so I can eat at the two area Dog n Suds drive ins, which I learned too late are only open during the summer.)īenton Harbor, Michigan, 90 miles south of Muskegon is home to the last operating Henry’s Hamburgers. I’m already planning my next trip to Muskegon so i can eat at Mr. The East Laketon Avenue location in particular, with its stained glass accents and orange and white color scheme, made for a very pleasant and immersive vintage fast food dining experience. Cups, wrappers, and tray liners still sport Mr. I visited two locations on three occasions and found both to be impeccably clean with a courteous staff, fair prices, and well-prepared food. The infamous Michigan-specific green olive burger is also available for those who like their beef with a briny aftertaste. There’s also a decent breakfast menu featuring made from scratch pancakes that put McDonald’s pre-fab microwaved hotcakes to shame. Very non-McDonald’s offerings like onion rings and chili dogs appear on Mr. Quick’s history online beyond that, so it’s tough to say how much their menu has evolved since the chain’s heyday, but I will say it has definitely expanded dramatically past McDonald’s original menu. ![]() There’s not a lot of information about Mr. The chain peaked at around 300 locations, and declined in the 1970s. Quick opened in Moline, Illinois in 1962. One other location is in a more modern building, and the fifth is in a gas station. Quick locations in Muskegon, three of which operate out of nicely-maintained 1970s era locations with inside seating. ![]() But like many retail ventures that thrived in the fifties and sixties, the three McDonald’s imitators from Illinois struggled to remain relevant, and profitable in the 1970s.Īll three chains began their descent into near extinction in the 1970s, but two of the three McDonald’s imitators still exist and thrive in Western Michigan, less than half a day’s drive from my current home in metro Detroit. Each expanded beyond The Land of Lincoln and enjoyed moderate success through the 1960s. The three imitators copied McDonald’s menu, building design, and self-serve system. Quick, and Henry’s Hamburgers, all sprung into existence to compete with, and imitate McDonald’s, which was expanding outward from Ray Kroc’s first McDonald’s location in Des Plaines, Illinois. In the early sixties, Illinois-based Chains like Sandy’s, Mr. Just as White Castle’s success in the 1920s spawned blatant imitators like Krystal and White Tower, McDonald’s had a trio of imitators in that would make Cleo McDowell proud. The self-serve, quick-service system designed by the McDonald brothers and propagated by their frienemy, Ray Kroc, was revolutionary, and influences the fast food industry to this day. ![]() In the late 1950s, McDonald’s was expanding rapidly in the Midwest and enjoyed overnight success. My goal was to visit as many as possible in the two days I was in the area. The Lake Michigan coast between Muskegon and the Indiana border proved to contain a tantalizing combination of holdout locations of otherwise defunct chain restaurants, as well being home to locations of thriving regional chains that are at the very edge of their operating territory.
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