Whatever happened to Long John Silver?
Vložit
- čas přidán 29. 02. 2024
- In this one I examine the storied history of Long John Silver's from it's birth in Lexington Kentucky to today! Check out some classic jingles that "put a smile on your taste" and see some of the great pop culture references to Long John Silver's!
- Zábava
I may be one of the few but I was addicted to Long John Silvers
its special good... make u crave it
I don't remember what they called it, but you could get an order of just the breading that fell off the fried food while it was cooling.
@@ghost307 yeah something about that crack they called breading lol
@@ghost307 crunchies!
@@arlichar11 Thanks. I loved those...probably because they were so bad for me.
I never ate fish, growing up, but tried Long John Silver's in the 1970's & liked it! Now, I regularly eat fish, because of it!
That was me with fish sticks as a kid!
Worked there from '87 to '89 while in high-school. Many burn scars. Used to love the food before they changed the to the oil they use now. It leaves a film coating in your mouth!!! We served beer and wine till '88. Our tuna and seafood salads were made fresh daily and I could do 30 hushpuppies in a minute. Still remember cooking times and some prices including tax. Was a fun place to work and we had a great crew!!!
Cool memories! Thanks for sharing. I love hearing that they served beer and wine! What a different era!
I think the fish quality changed. My family and I ate their for years. The meals were not the same any more. All of the long johns in a 50 mile radius. Have closed.
In the 70s, the fish was delicous, then suddenly it changed. So they changed the oil? I thought the batter had changed, but maybe the oil changed the batter flavor. Anyway, I could eat there 3 times a week at first. Now, I haven't eaten there in years. They should have realized people will pay more for quality food. Sucks now.
@@johnball8758yep
Long John Silver’s is my absolute favorite place to eat fish! They also have great chicken planks and shrimp, too!
I gotta try the planks!
But wouldn’t it be something if they served whale meat as well?
@whirlpool1978 The planks were good, but man those Peg Legs were awesome!
One still exists in my little town. My wife and I eat there every leap year! I ordered $20 worth of food just for myself. My wife gave me the look and I replied, “I’m not confident we’ll be able to come back in 2028.” She replied, “I didn’t think we’d be able to come here in 2024!”
😂😂😂
For all you Steven Spielberg "Poltergeist" fans, the young blonde girl in one of the commercials is Heather O'Rourke.
Wow! Good call!
I’m from Kentucky and never knew that the first restaurant was in Lexington, KY. There’s actually a Long John Silvers / A&W combined restaurant not too far from me. They have root beer on tap and you can get a frosty mug to pour it in. It’s been years since I’ve been in there, so hopefully they still have this anyway.
I love the A&W root beer!
In the past week I've seen 5 commercials for Long John Silver.
The weird thing is that the closest of the few remaining locations is almost 1,000 miles away.
Yeah, we don't have one for over an hour drive.
On a trip last year we stopped at the location along US 52 in Ironton, Ohio. For whatever reason the fish we received was just absurdly delicious. Strong beer batter flavor and perfectly seasoned and fried. It awakened memories that I had from childhood of eating this stuff. I used to look down on LJS when they were very common, but hardly any restaurant today makes a no BS battered fried fish dinner that actually tastes like something.
Yeah, so true!
I remember one that was between Victorville and Barstow. Used to love it while stationed out there in the Marines. It was the only place I could find a hush puppy in the godforsaken state of California.
Thank you for your service! I love the hush puppies! So great.
I just had Long John Silvers for lunch this post Saturday. I've enjoyed their food since I was a kid and my grandparents would take me there. My grandma was the one that taught me that they'll give you a side of the crumbs.
That's fantastic! Great memories!
I absolutely LOVED this place when I was a kid in the late 70’s early 80’s!!!
I tried it again about 5 years ago when one close to me was still open and it didn’t taste the same😔
What’s worse is the building is yet ANOTHER taco shop😩
Yeah, bummer.
Loved LJS. I always missed that shrimp mascot thing. It was hilarious.
It’s funny
It's from the Muppets. He started mid 1990s as Muppets put out newer films, videos.
We had one that looked like the shop in the commerical you showed, but they tore it down during the pandemic, said they were rebuilding it forever, and it finally reopened about 6 months ago. It's a LJS only, no kfc or a&w with it. We haven't been yet but there are lines around the drive thru whenever we've driven by!
I’m sad I didn’t get to go to the old one. 😂😂
Back in the 80's and in high school I loved the fish platter with those hush puppies. EDIT: Please confirm I'm not crazy, didn't Taco Bell used to sell a "choco taco" that was a thin waffle taco-like structire with chocolate/vanilla layers dessert? I love ice cream and always bought a few. No one believes me!!!!
The choco taco was awesome!
We have one here, it’s still going strong.
Good to hear!
Athur Treatures and Seafood Bay, now those are two franchises I deeply miss. Props on the Kings Island decor in the backdrop. Diamondback is bae, but I always get fired up when Timbers puts Hall and Oates on.
Oh yeah! Kings Island is great
There are two Arthur Treatures left.
@@thetankhunter100 I went to the Arthur Treacher's in Cuyahoga Falls and then took the food to the spot in Columbus where the chain first started! czcams.com/video/OBK1f0hXhJc/video.html
Yes, in Ohio @@thetankhunter100
I kept saying "Long John Silver" instead of "Long John Silver's" so add an S in your head for me.
20 oz soda was an extra large. Now it is a small in many fast food places.
Yeah, I thought so too. Just crazy!
I managed LJS in late '70's early 80's Still my favorite job ever. Breaks my heart that they let it fall apart.
Yeah, those were the days!
I love the passion and insight from this video. I always loved how unique they made their restaurants full of details. I only went to it once as a kid, it was those kfc and LJS combo, went away during the pandemic.
Hey, thanks for the kid words! Sad to hear of all the places that went away during 2020!
H. Salt Esquire was a place I loved as a kid as well. If I remember correctly, the wax paper in the basket was a facsimile of a newspaper.
H Salt was so great!
Still thriving in Jackson MI where I live. All you can eat fish on sunday.
Oh that's interesting! Looking at that now online!
My local long John silvers still has the bell. I miss when they mixed with A&W to get some good long John's and a root beer float
That sounds great!
The one I've been to about two weeks ago had the bell too. The building did look like they haven't updated it for decades but the food was excellent. I'm pretty sure I will go there again.
I love LJS! Sadly there’s not one close to me but growing up I fondly remember the sword doors and the pirate hats! I was always a fan of the chicken planks and the crispies 😁 fantastic video sir!
Thank you for the kind words! I never tried the chicken, and now I feel bad, because everybody talks about how great it was!
There aren’t any in my area, but next time I pass by one, I’m definitely trying those chicken planks
We still have one in my hometown. It’s been there as long as I can remember. It hardly ever has a car in the parking lot yet is still open.
I told my wife the other day when we passed by that it has to be some sort of money laundering or something now. 🤣
🤣🤣
2:09 -- If we did fine, ring da chime!
🤣 fantastic
I remember when LJS's opened in the mid 70's in East Tennessee, it was something different from standard burger & fries, and the line to get served was out the door. The menu was limited but they sold the fish and chips so fast that they were always scalding hot and the paper lining the container looked like newspaper and it really absorbed the cooking oil. I think the always expanding menus are part of the down fall of fast food restaurants; stick to limited offerings and do that well. LJS's is gone now, and since I can't digest greasy food the way i did when younger, I don't miss them.
Oh my goodness, you are so correct. I was at a McDonald’s recently and the menu was so ridiculously long. Why do you need three different chicken sandwiches? Simplify the menu and the quality improves.
Thanks for watching!
Seafood restaurant based out of a landlocked state.
What a country.
😂😂😂😂
Man, I miss LJS. Sure, it could be hit or miss, but every so often their chicken and fries just hit the spot so perfectly. Grew up going there throughout the decades and seeing the other restaurants it shared the space with (shout-out to A&W!). That smell is still in my head. The one in my town closed a couple years back after barely functioning during the cough cough period. Broke my heart. The only one I know of still open anywhere near me is a solid 75 miles out. Might just make that trip one day to get my fix.
Yeah, we had one in my area for about a decade but they closed many years ago and now I haven’t been to one in so long. Watching the old commercials really made me want it again.
Thanks so much for watching!
LOVED going to LJS as a kid in the 70's and a teen in the 80's. The food was good quality and inexpensive, and I really enjoyed the whole nautical theme of the restaurant. You would go through the line, place your order, then pick a table and they would bring it out to you. The chicken "peg legs" were awesome. I had forgotten about those coin tokens, but definitely remember the pirate hats. The one in my town merged with an A&W in the 1990s, lost the nautical theme, the quality went down, and they closed several years ago. I think there is one still open in a town near me, but there are better options if I want to eat at a seafood restaurant. A shame.
Yeah, all fast food places want to look the same now which takes away some of the charm.
A new one opened in my small town, I applied for a job there in high school when I needed college money, and was not even called back. I’ll never eat there again.
Bummer!
In 1989 you could get a deck of 20th anniversary cards where you can play Go Fish with the cards being Treasure Island characters along with Miss Fish Fillet and my personal favorite, Mr Chicken Plank! Needless to say then nine year old me loved ordering "Mr Chicken Planks"! :D
That’s very cool! I’m looking that up now!
@@PointlessNostalgia And the next year, 1990, they did a neat colorful 40 card Starline set of baseball cards! See if you can get a set of those and show them off in a future video! Oh, and don't forget Long John Silvers were the main sponsor for Hoosier Millionaire!
I ate at the original Long John Silver’s during medical school at UK in the late 80s and early 90s. I still love their chicken planks.
That sounds great!
the old theme of Long John Silver's was quite great, with a great theme and everything of sorts but I rarely ate there after about 1990 till the late 90s when we would go back a bit more often for work lunch on Fridays when I used to clear office buildings. The old one was closed and torn down to make way for a Verizon store, built a new one with modern look and THAT closed down over a year ago along with several others around here.
Yeah, we lost all of the ones in central Jersey about 3 years ago.
For those visiting Flint Michigan. There is still a Long John Silvers there. It’s by the Gennessee Valley Mall.
Ah nice!
theres still one in latrobe pa. i ate there a few years ago and it was still really good but very salty. i think i'll hit it next time i am in the area.
Oh awesome! Latrobe is where Mister Rogers was born!
and arnold palmer. and my cousin dave.
There is a combined Long John Silver's and KFC right down the street from me in Downers Grove Illinois.
Downers Grove is a nice area!
I applied for my first job at Long John Silver’s in 1978 when I was 16. I also applied at a local deli which is where I ended up. Who knows, if I did take the LJS job my career trajectory may have been different and I wouldn’t have met you at Sesame.
The butterfly effect! Thanks for watching!
Ours in Columbus, Indiana was around from 1972 until 2022. Shut it's doors then two months later it was knocked down and construction began on a Valvoline quick lube facility. 😬
Oh wow! That must have been a classic looking building! Shame.
@@PointlessNostalgiaIdentical to the restaurant shown in the opening of your post except for the fact that the posts and ropes on the "dock" were removed in an exterior painting and there was a paint and cosmetic "remodel" on the inside. The interior refurb was painting and replacing the pirate themed wall hangers with standard "seafood and ocean" items....lol. It still had a ship's wheel and a bell. That was in the nineties. The refurbishment was essentially like taking an old shirt and doing some repairs and "upgrades" to it. It pretty much looked like it always had, they just put a little bit of fresh "makeup" on it.😂
We still have two beloved ones in the Va. Beach area.
That’s a great area
I miss the wraps they did in the Late 1990s, Chicken and fish ones were awesome. I make my own version at home its pretty good every so often...
The wraps sound great!
There's an absolutely pristine time capsule 1980's era LJS near me. It weirds me out every time I drive by.
My wife can't have it, and I probably shouldn't, but I'll have to give it a try soon.
Oh! Where is that? I love the ones that aren’t updated but are still in good condition!
@GuyHutchinson I think I lied. 🤣
I could have sworn it still had the big ropes hanging outside and the sword doors. I looked on Google Street View, and it's their standard slightly dressed up Morton building.
Still, I might have to try it out for nostalgia sake. 🤔
Clarion PA had a great stand alone LJS with plank type decks, metal sword door fixtures, bells, maritime lamps; out doors-night. That LJS was open for many years.
I got serious Long John Silver vibes watching Stranger Things, when they had that Scoops Ahoy uniform.
Oh! Good point!
LMAO the mask looks like Ron Jeremy😂
OMG. That’s so true
Las Cruces NM. Still alive with a long John silver and the bell is still there. 😉
Awesome! RING THAT BELL! 😂😂
I will have to show this to my son. He just started working at LJS as a fry cook. I think they still have the swords on the doors.
Oh wow! I was wondering if any of the sword doors remain! Good luck to your son!
Ringing the bell was fun. The fish is so greasy now, hurts the belly
So true!
Long John Silvers is alive and thriving in East Kentucky
Ah good to hear!
My dad loved LJS and passed away in 2019. I always just thought it was more popular with older people and they're all passing on. Same with a lot of places now. Kids are eating Chick Fila and stuff more than they are Burger King or subway. You gotta stay relevant as a chain with the new generations and get them hooked young.
That is so true!
Thank goodness down in Palm Beach county where we live is have a place called Bud's Chicken and Seafood. It's fried food, especially the seafood reminds of the way things USED to be. So freakin' good...in moderation of course. I want to say that there was Miami Subs and Grill here that had Long John Silver inside of it.
We had a Miami Subs but it had Arthur Treacher (and Nathan’s, Kenny Rogers and an ice cream place Baskin Robins I think)
Pointless Nostalgia with Guy Hutchinson: We have a Long John Silver's, and a KFC in the same building in Fort Gratiot Michigan.
It's a good combo!
I loved going to long john silvers as a kid I loved the hush puppies I miss it
Yeah, it was a fun place back then!
I worked there my junior and senior years in High School. I have the burn scars to prove it.
😂😂 Yeah, thats the mark of a former fry cook for sure!
When they stopped serving Peg Legs, started serving crappy fries and thin slices of fish plus really poor customer service, they started closing restaurants. We used to have three in our area, now just a KFC combo with limited options. Senior managers need to go out into the field and see how bad it really is.
Yeah, I think the quality control is so bad today.
My local LJS's served beer 20 years back.
That's wild!
I literally remember that comic book from the pictures in it.
Man, it's a throwback!
We have one in Tulsa off a highway. It’s a tad scandalous and maybe has random hours but when it is open the line is long!
Oh wow! Planning to go to Tulsa this summer! I may have to investigate.
@@PointlessNostalgia my spouse showed up with it last night for dinner. I haven’t had it in years.
Hell, had it this last Saturday in Shelbyville, Ky. Other than the weird film it leaves in your mouth, still pretty good.
I know that feeling!
I could get a fish & Fry with a large Tea with free refills for $2.00 including tax! years ago, Man I would do that 1 time a week then walk the mall 10 times and just chill what a time!
It's crazy how much the prices have gone up over the years!
Great video, everybody talks about the fish, but the chicken was delicious.
Thank you for the kind words! I haven't tried the chicken! I will have to check it out some time!
There is still one in the town I live in. I don't ever see any cars in there except for the employee's cars and we always joke it is a money laundering front.
😂 It may be!
One down the street from my house. Went their Friday to get some. It was packed!!! Had to go to another place to eat.
Friday during lent! It's the place to be!
There is a LJS and A&W restaurant very near me. As a matter of fact my wife and son ate there last week. The Malt vinegar is the very best I have ever had and they sell it by the bottle in the restaurant.
Oh, that’s a good combo! I do love A&W. And that malt vinegar is so perfect on french fries… I mean chips
I had an uncle who worked at a Long John’s in my hometown. A few years after he quit working there, it closed and now it’s a Mexican restaurant. There’s also a Long John’s that shares space with an A&W in the town I currently live in right across from a Walgreens.
I love A&W!
1969 fish and chips was a new thing in America? 1800's Green Bay, Wisconsin Fried Perch still going strong.
Oh nice!
Nothing that I know of. Long John Silver is still in port! I just ate a two-piece fish meal with extra hush puppies at the one down the road here in Chattanooga, Tennessee - actually just over the state line in Georgia in historic Fort Oglethorpe. Long John Silvers is all over East Tennessee and Georgia
That's awesome! Chattanooga is a beautiful city!
I live in a rural town east of Morgantown, W.Va., and had my first LJS experience in the late 1970s in the "big city." The restaurant is still there, and I still still get my Silverfish every couple of months.
Another place I lived had the KFC/LJS hybrid, which was great. Silverfish and mac & cheese!
I’m looking at one in Braxton West Virginia that looks like a classic building. Is that the one?
Sounds great. Hopefully I’ll get there soon. One of the states I’ve never been to.
@@PointlessNostalgia That one is in Sutton, which is pretty much the center of the state. One of my grandmothers was from there, so I've eaten at that one, too.
The one I'm referring to is in Sabraton, which is the east end of Morgantown.
Aren't silver fish a kind of roach
@@tolfan4438 After you make the joke for 15 or 20 years, it just kinda becomes the default.
The LJS I grew up with is still open, 50 plus years now. Now I work across the road from it. From time to time, the air handlers for the AC system in my office building will allow the smell of the fish into the building. Sadly, the cost of the food, as with all take out places anymore, has gotten so high, smelling it is about all I can afford to do. But I would hate to see the franchise go. Capt'n D's is OK for me but not the same.
That reminds me of a dollar theater I used to go to. It was next to a fish market and it always smelled like fish. 🤣🤣
I remember eating here from 2000 to 2010 in Mesa and Tempe Arizona I believe the establishments still open. I also only know of one A&W restaurant in mesa,az that would sell you a empty plastic gallon container (like you buy milk in) and self serve tap (bar style) next to fountain drink dispenser. It truly was the best way to enjoy Root Beer. New to channel and have you made a video about them? If so link it and I watch also awesome upload !!!
None in Tempe. Mesa. Phx. Queen creek. Some are co branded w Taco Bell or KFC.
All the A&Ws are closed. None in the valley.
I have mentioned A&W a few times on the channel because I have some Rooty the Root Beer Bear merch. Planning to do a full video some day soon. Thanks so much for watching!
Sing the song....bum, bum, bum, bum; "Long John Silver's got a special for your young buccaneers. Pirates eat for peanuts and they cruise away with free souvenirs. Ya get the best seafood dishes, fries and our homemade slawwww (chicken too). So bring the whole crew its a fun thing to do. Looooong John Silvers. Seafood shops!"...ba dump, dump.
😂😂 So great!
I love their restaurant, seafood is a healthy fast food choice
It's great!
There’s a LJS/Taco Bell hybrid by my house, but it annoys me because you have to go inside to get anything off the LJS menu. Sometimes a quesadilla and a chicken plank are perfect
Sounds perfect!
All the LJS places I ever knew closed down. It was my favorite, I miss it so much. Are they still a thing? If they are I might look into opening one, a fast food joint in my town that offers a crown just shut down last year and is still up for sale.
There isn't one within an hour of my area. Glad there are still some out there!
@@PointlessNostalgia our local burger King just went out of business, I'm going to look into how much they want for the property, it'd make a great LJS location🤔 and we're in a hot spot tourist destination. I'd have to see if I have to do duel up with another chain too cause I don't like the split chains. Specialize in one thing only, dual chains suck!
What’s great channel!
Thanks for watching!!
There is a LJS in Heidelberg, Pennsylvania, near Bridgeville (Pittsburgh). It does okay.
I was in that area last year! Nice place!
@@PointlessNostalgia True, it is.
I miss the olden days.
Me too!
Had ljs a month ago, it was pretty good. I think that they are in better shape now that they are no longer owned by yum brands.
Oh that’s good to hear!
We have one nearby, back in the 80s they were filled with customers , nowadays they are always empty and only two employees working ..
Yeah, same story in lots of places!
Like the fish hate the price
Yep!
Long dong silver was famous! If you know, you know.
😂😂😂😂
I wish they wouldn't fry the chicken in the fish oil
Good point!
Good video 😀
Thanks 😁Much appreciated!
Good stuff
Thanks so much! I appreciate you watching it!
Thanks so much! I appreciate you watching it!
Ate at LJS last week, Greasy deliciousness!
🤣 so true
We have a combo LJS/KFC location a few miles away. Think they have a special right now. Thanks for reminding me.
Nice! Thanks for watching!!
We had them in Canada . Not too bad ,went a few times ,but they are long gone now.
Ah that's a shame.
I went to one yesterday.
Sweet! Have a great weekend
I remember the commercials from the 80s but I think I only went once back then.
I know for sure went one time as an adult somewhere between 8 and 15 years ago and it was not good food and the service was very hood.
The food is hit or miss based on the location I think.
My body requires periodic lubrication (like the Tinman from Wizard of Oz) so I eat at LJS 3-4 times per year. I can't take heavy grease more often, but I still love the coleslaw and hushpuppies.
Yeah, the greasy taste is too much.
I haven't been there in years for me they were alright son.
Indeed.
My local one charges $4 for a large drink the McDonald's next door is $1.25
Pretty sure it's just a drug front. Noone is ever there. 🤔
Crazy!
Love LJS, unfortunately all shut down around me 😢
Bummer!
That was heather o rourke from poltergeist did long john silver commercial
I think you are correct! That's awesome, good eye!
I have 2 Long John Silvers by me they are combined with A&W and KFC
That’s a good combo!
The old Long John Silvers where I used to live was known as the stoner hangout. Not just for the customers, but the staff as well. I'm talking all teenagers, 4/20 blaze it, constant Bob Marley and Sublime level here. Literally everyone there was either already high or left high. In hindsight, it's probably one of the reasons why they shut it down. Good times.
😂
always enjoyed Long John Silvers, but sadly they started to decline when Cod became too expensive for them to sell, other types of whitefish are fine, but Cod just tastes outstanding. that is where the downward slope began, then inflation as a whole made things harder. LJS still lives on, but it is a shell of it's former glory and there's little hope of them bouncing back imo.
I have heard this is the case. I know Arthur Treacher stopped serving cod for a while and then switched back.
I still Doordash an order from these guys once or twice a month.
I like doordash, but the fees are so high!
@@PointlessNostalgia So who's the cheapest nowadays? GrubHub, Uber, or somebody else?
Also wonder what happened to Long Dong Silver
😂😂😂
My local LJS didn't seem to survive the pandemic very well. I'll drive by on my way elsewhere and see cars in front of it, but when I come back later during posted business hours it's empty and locked. I've given up ever trying it.
That's a bummer!