Lost logos


Rewind a handful of decades and fast food logos were quite different. We’ve had Henry’s Hamburgers with its smiling burger sign and Howard Johnson’s with Simple Simon and the Pieman. Meanwhile, McDonald’s was once headed up by Speedee and Pizza Hut by its mascot Pete. Here we take a look at our favorites that no longer exist.



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A&W

Believe it or not this is what was outside A&W restaurants from the 1920s to the 1960s. An orange target with “A&W” at the top, “Ice Cold” in the middle, “Root Beer” at the bottom, and an arrow through the middle. Then it was changed to the sleek orange and brown oval with the restaurant’s initials that’s used today.



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Howard Johnson’s

One of the most recognizable logos of all time, now-defunct restaurant chain Howard Johnson’s early branding included the image of Simple Simon and the Pieman. Designed by John Eagles Alcott, it was inspired by a nursery rhyme. You could find it on the sign outside its restaurants, chinaware, glasses, napkins and placemats.



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McDonald’s

Before McDonald’s adopted the golden arches, it relied on Speedee to signpost it. In the 1950s, its adverts, cups and packaging featured a chef character whose face was a hamburger. The restaurant name was written out in full above it. It looked suspiciously similar to Henry’s Hamburgers’ logo, but the fast food giant gave it an update the following decade.



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Valle’s Steak House

Back in the day a sign with “Valle’s” in capital letters and a gold crown perched on top of the “V” signaled you were nearing a Valle’s Steak House. There were over 30 on the East Coast serving a variety of steaks and lobster. It has been closed since the 1990s.



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Chick-fil-A

This famous chicken chain’s logo, featuring an eye, beak and comb drawn onto the “C” of “Chick-fil-A”, hasn’t always been so sleek and seamless. When the restaurant was founded in the early 1960s, it featured a quirky sketch of a chicken’s head to the left of the restaurant’s name (which was spelled differently back then) and underneath in bold lettering “best thing that ever happened to a chicken”.

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Arthur Treacher’s

You won’t have seen this logo in a while unless you live in northeast Ohio where there are a handful of the fish and chip shops left. A yellow lamp post with a portrait of Arthur Treacher (the English actor who starred in Shirley Temple movies and the restaurant’s spokesperson) wearing a checkered green hat and jacket. It could be found outside the front of its 826 restaurants during its heyday in the 1970s.



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Henry’s Hamburgers

This smiling hamburger holding a cup and with a “H” for a body meant one thing: Henry’s Hamburgers. The color scheme was green and red and it signposted its 200 stores which were coast to coast in the 1960s. Here you could get chili dogs, fish sandwiches, deep-fried shrimp and crispy catfish.



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Burger King

In 1957 Burger King’s logo was its mascot sitting on a burger and holding a drink. Underneath it said “Burger King Home of the Whopper”. It lasted for 12 years, after which it was replaced by a burger with the restaurant’s name sandwiched between two buns.



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Jack in the Box

This wacky logo dates back to the 1960s when Jack in the Box was circus-themed. The box read “Jack in the Box” in a red font and had a clown’s head on top. The following decade, it shed its carnival branding in favor of a classy new update.



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Little Tavern

Opened in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1927, Little Tavern was heavily inspired by White Castle but at least it had some originality when it came to its logo. “Little Tavern” was written in an arc with the “L” extended below and the “T” extended above, and the word “Shops” was in the center below. It was usually green and white, though occasionally it was red. The sketch of the building was not part of the logo.



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Carl’s Jr

Though not completely different from the restaurant’s current logo, there are a few notable differences between the chain’s branding in the 1950s versus today. You can notice the star has more detail than usual, including freckles and feet, and is clutching a hamburger and drink.



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Little Chef

This spritely chef on a red background was the logo for Little Chef, a British diner that existed from the 1950s to the 2010s. Fat Charlie received a number of updates over the years. In the original logo his eyes are looking up towards the tray, in later versions he’s wearing a neckerchief and looking forwards, and in final designs he is in a jacket and holding a plate.

Check out what fast food brand everyone loved the decade you were born



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Pioneer Chicken

During the 1960s there were signposts for regional chain Pioneer Chicken all over California. They featured a chicken wagon with “Pioneer Takeout” on the side. It was driven by Pioneer Pete who wore a hat, red scarf and had a moustache, and carried a piece of golden chicken. Nowadays, only two outposts remain in Boyle Heights and Bell Gardens, Los Angeles.



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The All American Burger

The blue logo of Californian chain The All American Burger could be spotted on its sign as well as its roof. It featured a white eagle with red feathers and little white stars around its border. It shot to fame when the restaurant appeared in the 1980s coming of age film Fast Times at Ridgemont High, however all of its outposts have long since been closed.



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Pizza Hut

In Pizza Hut’s early years its mascot was an Italian chef called Pizza Hut Pete. He sometimes appeared alongside the logo which featured the name “Pizza Hut” written in a jagged font. The immediately-recognizable roof emblem we know and love today didn’t come along until the late 1960s.



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Chi-Chi’s

If you wanted Tex-Mex in the 1970s you kept an eye out for the groovy red logo of Chi-Chi’s. The name of the restaurant was written in capitals and the curve of the “C” underscored the text. Now closed in the US, if you want to try its chimichangas, nachos and salsa, you have to head to outposts in Europe, Kuwait or the United Arab Emirates.



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Dairy Queen

While the most updated restaurants are signposted by the initials “DQ” on a red almond, you can occasionally see old and defunct branches carrying the restaurant’s original branding. “Dairy Queen” was written out in full on a blue or red circle with an ice cream cone positioned to the side.



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Burger Queen

In the 1960s Burger Queen restaurants began to pop up around Kentucky. Its logo was an orange “Q” with the restaurant name written in the space in red and a yellow crown perched on top. It’s mascot Queenie Bee, a black and white bee, sometimes appeared beside it. In the 1980s all the restaurants were changed to Druther’s.



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Taco Bell

The chain is instantly recognizable from its purple and white (formerly pink) logo, but it has only been using these colors since the 1990s. When it was first launched it had multicolored branding – each letter of “Taco Bell” was written in a white sans-serif font on a different color square – on restaurant buildings and advertising from the 1960s to the 1980s.



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Happy Eater

A British roadside chain popular from the 1970s through to the 1980s, at Happy Eater you could get burgers, fish and chips, and fried breakfasts. Its logo was a little red face with its mouth wide open and a finger pointing inside on a yellow background. Kids particularly loved it because it gave out badges which featured the icon.

Now check out the best roadside restaurants in America



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IHOP

Did you know IHOP stands for “The International House of Pancakes”? If you visited in the 1950s when this was its signage you would have. For a restaurant, the logo was relatively complicated, an illustration of its wooden entrance, with a street-light and banner where its name was written. It was a world away from the minimalist acronym it uses today.



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Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour

The ice cream parlor with epic sundaes, singing and drum-banging waiters, and kitschy decor, Farrell’s was established in Portland, Oregon, in 1963. The logo featured a couple holding hands across a table accompanied by milkshakes. “Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour & Restaurant” was written above in a red, Western-style font.



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Denny’s

When Denny’s first opened in 1953, it was called Danny’s Donuts. The logo featured a pentagon with “Danny’s” in white and “donuts” below. The “d” and “t” extended upwards like two posts. Below there were arrows and on top a donut with the letter “D” in its center. The name, and therefore the logo, changed to Denny’s in 1959.



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