To view the live stream of the memorial service please . This live stream will begin at 2:00 p.m. on Monday, January 18, 2021.
Howard B. Johnson, 71, of Exton, passed away on Monday, January 11, 2021 at Einstein Medical Center Montgomery County after a 17-year battle with Parkinson’s Disease. He was the beloved husband of Patty A. Veach Johnson, with whom he shared 40 years of marriage.
Born in New Castle, Delaware, he was the son of the late Howard and Evelyn Rudd Johnson.
There is nothing Howard loved to do more than coach his sons in baseball and basketball. Marriott spent much of 1985 converting or closing HoJo restaurants and hotels not sold to PMI, sharply reducing the number of Howard Johnson establishments; within two years only the franchised locations remained untouched. FAI ceased operations in early 2005 and its website was dark by November of that year. Marriott was less interested in the Howard Johnson Motor Lodges as it was in the real estate of the restaurant properties, specifically for conversion to Marriotts Big Boy and Roy Rogers restaurants. Mr. Johnson commented, We all want the dinner business, but you have those horrible margins involved in putting out the plate. There were 41 by the end of 1936, and that number swelled to 107 restaurants by 1939 when the companys gross revenues eclipsed $10.5 million. In the summer of 1953, when young Jacques was taking a summer course at the Harvard Business School, he worked the counter at a local Howard Johnson's, where he was a dab hand at making banana splits. Recommend Howard's obituary to your friends. There is an awful lot of volume between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. In 1965 the company advertised the opening of the first motel ever constructed on Texas only turnpike, and boasted annual sales that eclipsed that of McDonalds, Burger King, and Kentucky Fried Chicken combined. Perhaps the biggest dagger was that of new competition. More successful was Howard Johnsons 1969 Ground Round concept, a family casual dining restaurant known for its festive atmosphere. Howard Johnsons significant contribution to the industry was the improvement and standardization of the lodging product. PS Thanks to Karen at Booker Talk for this recommendation which came via Katherine Stansfield who was a recent guest in Meet a Welsh Author. Once Howard Johnsons became a public company, shareholder involvement brought an ongoing need for management to lower costs and improve profits. The food was as much a success as the production; word spread quickly of a great new restaurant ten miles south of Boston. The 1970s kicked off with a series of national negative publicity events for the Howard Johnson Company. While positive for the hotels, none of the changes could overcome the fuel crisis nor inflationary headwinds; in 1984 Howard Johnsons profits tumbled another 40%. Ironically his chain of motor lodges was an important part of the early success of the Interstate System, which had federal legislation written specifically to prohibit service plazas on the new highways. There is a cemetery sanctioned flat gray stone that reads Johnson 412-1 close to the road in front of his stone. Gone are the original recipe fried clam strips, frankforts and Mac and Cheese, and as Manager LaRock reminds, even the ice cream is different now. Michael Hostage, steward of Howard Johnson Company for the last five years under Imperial Group, was recruited to continue his post under Prime Motor Inns. Howard established a good brand on his values of quality and consistency. Early menu items included baked beans, chicken pot pies, frankforts, ice cream, soft drinks, and his most famous offering, fried clam strips. Franey and Ppin were plucked from New York Citys ritzy Le Pavillion to help build the Howard Johnsons menu. A large part of this identity was the orange roof, a longtime staple of Howard Johnsons and trademark feature that was selected after it was scientifically determined as the best shade for attracting a motorists attention., I think the orange roof saves us a lot of advertising bills. In 1964 the company added 42 new motor lodges. Through several moves the younger Johnson modernized the company. AP News - 812 days ago According to their now defunct website, Franchise Associates Inc. developed the menu, provided training, offered quality assurance, marketing and mass purchasing, and handled public relations, new product development and operational supervision. Wed 23 Mar 2022 04.00 EDT. Bud spent two years working in lower executive roles within the company, effectively learning the ropes. PMIs executive vice president said The motels were profitable, but the restaurants were losing money We were more anxious to get rid of [the restaurants] than they were to get them.. The first west-coast restaurant was opened near Los Angeles in 1948. Burial. Rather than own the hotels, HFS would simply purchase licensing rights and then provide marketing, reservation, and other value-added administrative services. Howard Johnson Motor Lodges featured fresh linens daily and boasted modern facilities with large guest rooms that offered air conditioning, televisions, and full bathrooms with tub and shower, at the time considered luxuries outside of the city. He claimed the secret recipe came from his mother, while other accounts suggests it camefrom William G. Hallbauer, a retiring German immigrant who had been selling ice cream from his horse and cart in the area at the turn of the century. She was born on July 2, 1956 in New Orleans, LA, and was a longtime resident of Gretna, LA. On the surface Rapid Reservations was a technological innovation, but it was also a business innovation. Howard Deering Johnsonwas born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1897. Participating in this rebirth was Howard Johnsons, which returned to adding franchises in 1945. One solution to the liquor ceiling was to reorganize the restaurants into two divisions: The Orange Roofs (which included traditional Howard Johnsons restaurants as well as Turnpike and Truck Stop stores), and the more upscale Specialty Restaurant Division (which included Ground Round, Red Coach Grills, and Lucky Lils). This double-barrel method of selling products to the franchisees was another Howard Johnson innovation, but prior to 1979 it was without regulation. In January 2006 and just months after the restaurants fell into its lap, Wyndham sold the restaurant rights to La Mancha Group LLC. It was Ppins belief the companys success was rooted in its founder. Mrs. Henry was born on June 15, 1930 to Howard Deering Johnson and his wife, Dorothy. Howard Johnson was a good friend who I met at Decision Data Computer Company. Meanwhile fast food chains like McDonalds were devouring HoJos market share with inexpensive menus and innovations such as the Kids Meal, a smash hit with Americans and something for which Howard Johnsons had no immediate answer. In his evocative documentary series Deep Roots Music, the film-maker Howard Johnson, who has died aged 78 . Johnson, Sr. had told his son that he should "start at the top of the company and work his way down.". Operations were tighter than a drum; restaurant managers were required to attend specialized six-month training and waitresses were required to attend a four-day course before they were allowed to serve customers. Now weve decided to go out and capture some of that volume like our competitors have been doing., In 1978 Johnson had failed to grow or make a serious acquisition, and instead was hoarding company cash. Cover design: Steve Marking. Leave a sympathy message to the family on the memorial page of Janice Howard Johnson to pay them a last tribute. He served his country in the U.S. Navy during the Korean Conflict. Howard Deering Johnson (February 2, 1897 - June 20, 1972) was an American entrepreneur, businessman, and the founder of an American chain of restaurants and motels under one company of the same name, Howard Johnson's . If notability cannot be shown, the article is likely to be merged, redirected, or deleted I looked at the profile of earnings and considered the companys assets, and I saw that, notwithstanding the perception of the public, operates to the standards of the other Howard Johnsons restaurants and it was done at our sole expense, , no advertising support, and no approved suppliers of the Howard Johnsons product. Bud explained the positioning toward more company-owned restaurants: Its simple. Publisher: Weidelfeld & Nicolson, 2021. Haldeman and John D. Ehrlichman, former Attorney General John Mitchell and former assistant Attorney General Robert Mardian, were indicted on charges of conspiring to obstruct . ISBN: 9781474619240. The beverage was not successful and quietly disappeared from shelves. She was 83. From 1948 until 1958 Nims worked to turn Howard Johnsons into the easily recognizable landmark for hungry Americans or host of the highways for which it would become known. It was effective, but by all accounts it was grueling and under-appreciated work, and not exactly a favorite internship program of students at business colleges and hotel schools. HFS continued its buying spree into the mid-1990s, eventually becoming the largest hotel franchiser in the world after adding Super 8 Motels, Park Inns, and Village Lodges to its holdings. You could make money anywhere.. The company increased its discontinuation of struggling franchises while setting strict property upgrade guidelines that alienated many of the hotel operators. As of 2017 Wyndham still owns the Howard Johnson hotel brand and maintains its webpage. The Howard Johnsons in Queens was once the largest roadside restaurant in the United States. Brennan paints upbeat picture of Maine in speech, and Burger King taking over 4 Howard Johnson's . We tried for four years, said Sally Patel, who noted the hotel side of their business remained busy. Johnson lured the family business by being one of the first to introduce a childrens menu and free desserts for Kids Club members on their birthdays. For the next two years the chain added fifteen restaurants per year. A handful of restaurants held out into the late 2000s, but the company has been gone for decades. Nevertheless, the stock continued to outperform and was one of the top three hotel stocksfrom July 1982 to January 1988 (the others being Marriott Corporation and Hilton Hotels). In the front is . Grade 12: Addison J. Aker, Rebecca R. Aleshire, Madalyn G. Anderson, Trevor J. Anderson, Juliette J. Berg, Maddex M. Biolo, Ethan T. Blohm, Isabella S.A. Blohm, Grant . In 1966 the company released HoJo Cola in its restaurants and select supermarkets across the country. More than 700 items everything from the toothpicks to the flour was sourced through corporate and delivered from one of the companys nationwide network of commissaries. These smaller Howard Johnsons still had the orange roof, but they eschewed a full menu and waitress service for a select menu of re-heated items sold in disposable containers that customers served themselves. We felt bad to close it., Bangor, Maine: Penultimate Howard Johnson Restaurant (now closed). Initially Wyndham used the Howard Johnson brand as a parking spot for franchise conversions previously independent motels that had recently been renovated and added to the Wyndham network. In 1995 the companys name was officially shortened to HFS, Inc. The hotels were healthy; by the end of the year HFS was operating 523 Howard Johnson hotels throughout North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Central and South America. Initially FAI put in a decent shift, trying a prototype restaurant and unveiling new foods for the health-conscious, revealed in a new menu introduced in 1990. In 1925, Howard Deering Johnson (unrelated to the Johnson family) borrowed $2,000 to buy and operate a small corner pharmacy in Wollaston, a neighborhood in Quincy, Massachusetts.Johnson was surprised to find it easy to pay back the money lent to him, after discovering his recently installed soda fountain had become the busiest part . CUC was a telephone-based, mail-order shopping club with 30 million members. Howard B. Johnson was effusive in his praise of the deal, calling it an opportunity which was in the best interests of the Howard Johnson shareholders and adding I enthusiastically support this proposal. Analysts believed the deal was probably connected to the impending gasoline shortage of 1979-80, the second such event in ten years and potentially catastrophic to HoJo earnings over the next two years. Marriotts plan to eliminate and convert all of the Howard Johnsons restaurants was met with resistance from many of the franchisees, who had much invested in the Howard Johnson brand and (among other things) did not want to incur the expense of a new brand remodel. Ultimately Howard Johnsons failed to properly anticipate trends and innovate while cost-cutting cheapened the brand and devalued the dining experience. The following year the company unveiled a much-anticipated brand reinvigoration at the Global Wyndham Group Conference in September. Source: Kingston Library. He wanted to expand the company . And Howard Johnson needs all those same things.. Johnson played a range of instruments from the tiny tin . [ Howard Johnsons was not the first food company to franchise that achievement goes to Harvey House, a fixture in railroad terminals in the late 1800s. The realtor signs were taken down, but the property remained for saleas of late 2016. Since sales are expected to reach $200 million in 1966, Johnson says were a fifth of the way home.. BECKY BRENNAN OBITUARY. Andrew Howard Brannan was born on November 26, 1948, and graduated from high school in 1967. Former French President Jacques Chirac died a few days ago, and once again Howard Johnson's was back in the news. It didnt surprise me that after Howard D. Johnsons death in 1972, his organization lost its raison detre. I stopped all expansion, and once you stop, you know how hard it is to get the monster going again, an opportunity which was in the best interests of the Howard Johnson shareholders. At the age of 13, he taught himself to play baritone saxophone; at 14, he began on the tuba, which he played in both his high-school marching and concert bands. I ate, slept, and thought of nothing but the business.. A 1960 news article boasted Howard Johnsons achievements in food: Howard Johnsons food now appears on tables everywhere. David Katz. Franey and Ppin were instrumental in developing the Howard Johnsons flash frozen signature dishes that could be delivered across the country and re-heated, which helped guarantee a consistent product. I moved there from Le Pavillon, a temple of French haute cuisine, where I had been working since my arrival in the United States in 1959.. In 1991 FAI owned and operated about two-thirds of the 110 remaining Howard Johnsons restaurants, but the company did seemingly little to actively promote or refresh Howard Johnsons while the surrounding environment became increasingly competitive. Despite facing countless obstacles and trying nearly a dozen failed spin-offs and sub-brands, Howard Brennan Johnson led the company from $200 million to $650 million in revenues, grew the number of restaurants by 25%, and grew the number of motels by more than 40%. Marriott then sold 125 of the company-owned Howard Johnson Motor Lodges (and the franchise royalty rights to 375 franchised motor lodges and 199 franchised restaurants) to Prime Motor Inns (PMI) for $235 million ($97 million cash + assumption of HoJos outstanding $138 million in debt) in a subsequent transaction that closed in November. Feeling the heat from burgeoning fast food competitors such as McDonalds and Burger King, Howard Johnsons introduced a new HoJo Junction fast food concept in June of 1967. Before going public the company spent richly on its food and hired top architects, chefs, and designers. Dorothy Henry, a longtime resident of Greenwich, Conn., and Edgartown, died Oct. 9. The younger generation is eating more snack items and eating out of the house more.. LaRock re-opened the Howard Johnsons restaurant on a seasonal basis in January 2015, briefly increasing the number of open Howard Johnson restaurants back to three. Synchronicity, or whatever you want to call it, that there would be a new thread about him. Bud was young but his resume was fairly accomplished for a person his age; in addition to his time at Harvard Business he graduated from Yale and spent two years in the Navy. People know exactly what they can count on when they see it.. Becky Lynn Brennan departed this life on November 11, 2021, at the age of 65. In 1971 two irate guests at a downtown New Orleans HoJo set the hotel on fire, killing six guests. I never did anything after I left school. In uniform, managers were indistinguishable from restaurant workers. Howard Lewis Johnson was born August 7, 1941 in Montgomery, Alabama, and grew up in Massillon, Ohio, a suburb of Canton. When Howard Brennan Johnson became president in 1959, he wanted one thing. The secret was to double the amount of normal butterfat, and to use only natural ingredients. California Obituary Project archived newspaper obituaries indexed by county at US GenWeb Archives. The Orleans location was also a hit, which led to additional franchising as the newly popular Howard Johnson name gained traction across New England. Meanwhile, HFS uncovered a disaster after its merger with CUC. By that time Bud wants a $1 billion company to hand over to his son. The lawsuit added oversight, controls, and changed the landscape of franchising. Howard Johnson LARWILL - Howard E. Johnson, a resident of Larwill, Indiana, passed away in Fort Wayne's Parkview Regional Medical Center on Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023. A $2.8 billion class action settlement ensued, and Cendant (and former CUC) chairman Walter Forbes earned a 12 -year jail sentence. As the company itself described, the proposed site must enhance the facility, lend itself to attractive landscaping, provide sufficient parking and meet particular local needs.. Maxine Hirschhorn Obituary (2023) - Newark, NJ - The Star-Ledger obits.nj.com So we have to sell a lot of liquor, but in a coffee shop you cant sell more than seven or eight percent liquor.. In an effort to stay modern and cutting edge, the Howard Johnsons company hired Florida architect Rufus Nims to develop a modern interpretation that stayed true to the restaurants identity. You could put one at the end of a dirt road in the woods back here and youd do business. By that time Bud wants a $1 billion company to hand over to his son. In 1996 the owners formed Howard Johnson Acquisition Corporation and successfully negotiated the rights from HFS to maintain and support the franchised Howard Johnson motor lodges. Existing locations were aging and franchisees were either unable or unwilling to remodel. In 1989 Prime attempted to take over Ramada Hotels, and in the process took on too much leverage. The reclassification allowed the specialty restaurants to serve more liquor. When FAI folded in 2005 the management and franchise licensing rights for the Howard Johnsons restaurant brand and its seven remaining locations returned to its previous owner, HFS (now Cendant), which by this time was concurrently spinning off its hospitality arm as Wyndham Worldwide. Ive known Howard for a number of years, since I obviously watched the company as a competitor. It was this financial crisis which led Howard to the concept of franchising his idea via exclusive distribution agreements. One of Johnsons smart early moves was securing exclusive hospitality contracts along state turnpikes. 126: Gage Walker, Bixby, dec. JJ McComas, Stillwater, 3-1 (tb1) 132: Cael Hughes, Stillwater, dec. Hunter Hollingsworth, Edmond North, 4-0 138: Jace Roller, Bixby . Facility age was a concern across the board; many of the east coast restaurants were more than forty years old, and some had never received a renovation. An Imperial spokesperson said the company could have solved Howard Johnsons problems over time, but it would have required more time and capital than the company was willing to invest.. The event made national news and prompted a public apology from President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Howard Johnsons was the king of the road. In exchange for these services, restaurant operators paid FAI 1.5% of gross revenues. John Russo. Home.
In addition to his wife, Howard is survived by his sons, Howard Aaron Johnson and his wife Ashley and Andrew B. Johnson. He is also survived by his siblings, Stanley, Judy, Marva, Linda and Norma and by many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his brother, Randall Johnson.
A public viewing will be held on Monday, January 18, 2021 from 12:45-1:45 p.m. at the James J. Terry Funeral Home, 736 E. Lancaster Avenue, Downingtown. Due to the Covid pandemic, the memorial service will be held privately with the family.