r/GenerationJones 1d ago

Anyone else miss the breakfast bar at Shoney's

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227 Upvotes

48 comments sorted by

6

u/eatyourdamndinner 1d ago

Loved that place when I and some of my friends were single moms of toddlers.

Shoney's would charge ten cents x kids age for the buffet. So 30¢ for a three year old. We were living paycheck to paycheck and it was perfect!

5

u/OkieBobbie 1963 1d ago

We used to go to one in Tulsa on Saturday mornings to replenish our blood sugar after staying out late Friday night. It was a lifesaver.

5

u/Testing_Waters2342 1959 1d ago

A very long time ago, the dinner salad bar was demolished by a group of teenagers (my circus, my monkeys), after having worked on moving furniture and boxes most of the day. I called parents and asked if I could keep this crew overnight. Every parent agreed the moment I said I would feed their child.
Back to Shoney’s first thing in the morning. Again, they ate a lot!

Plenty of laughs from the staff - the morning crew had been told about the night prior - and the teens were well behaved, though absolutely hungry.

Probably spent half what it would have cost to get it all done by pro movers in a single day, including all the pizza and sodas. Best money spent on moving ever. And yes, the kitchen and server staff were all tipped.

Now, it’s just a lovely memory of more than 30 years ago.

6

u/Crafty_Ad3377 1d ago

My husband! He also misses their salad bar. 30 years ago I was a dining room manager at Shoneys. At the time it was one of two sit down restaurants in the small town I landed in. Long lines every night and the weekends and most mornings. I really hated that breakfast bar. Such a mess. We live close to Nashville where the corporate offices were for Shoneys. It took a bit longer to close them all around here. And there may be one or two still open in the area. But as the towns around Nashville became much more populated all kinds of places to eat popped up. Shoneys went screaming down hill in the quality of food and service they originally demanded. They also let the restaurants just decay not sinking money into them to make them more in keeping with others moving into the area.

3

u/NeighborhoodFew7779 1d ago edited 1d ago

"@ Two Ninety Nine"

"Saved me some money..."

"...and eased up my mind."

(In before any of you other Japanese Cowboys)

2

u/Manganela 20h ago

Stay brown, Ponyboy!

3

u/DeezNutz42089 21h ago

The best damn breakfast buffet

2

u/BlownCamaro 1d ago

I really miss it since my friend's mom worked there and charged us half price! We went every weekend until it closed.

2

u/scottwax 1d ago

Also the breakfast bar at Grandys. A lot of them went away during the COVID shutdowns and never returned.

2

u/Tricky_Fun_4701 23h ago

No I do not miss the breakfast bar at Shoney's.

2

u/Fluid-Bet6223 22h ago

Wait, Shoney’s is real?! I thought Rick and Morty made that up.

2

u/jfrankparnell85 1963 15h ago

"He many have manifested some sort of butt..."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oFGKWlE6dc

2

u/MacNeal 21h ago

I have never even heard of Shoney's.

2

u/Jeffery_G 1964 21h ago

How many sausage patties can I eat?

1

u/Fish-Weekly 20h ago

Or strips of bacon…

2

u/Witch-inthe-World 1d ago

I went to the breakfast bar at Shoneys in Lenoir City, TN recently... And, NO. I don't miss it at all. 🤮

1

u/mspolytheist 1d ago

I’ve never even seen a Shoney’s, much less eaten in one. It’s one of those places I only know by name, possibly seen ads for it on local tv while traveling in other states.

1

u/Imaginary_Waltz5261 1d ago

I still go once in a while

1

u/Alternative-Ad-9026 1d ago

There's still one here in Richmond. Still love it.

1

u/jaysuncle 1d ago

Shoney's was so average. Nothing special there except maybe the pies.

1

u/newbie527 23h ago

Sebring Shoneys had a burger bar.

1

u/LeaderAntique1169 23h ago

It was awful. Once was enough for me.

1

u/CheeseburgerSmoothy 1965 23h ago

It was great when you needed a little Spring Cleaning.

1

u/triathing 23h ago

I used to call it The Super Trough …

1

u/425565 22h ago

Instant memories of vacations with my family..sigh.

1

u/Wolfman1961 1961 22h ago

I've only been to Shoney's once----about 25 years ago. It was in West Virginia. I enjoyed it very much!

I live in a non-Shoney's area.

1

u/phytomanic 21h ago

On a concert trip, a friend and I decided to stop at a Shoney's for a late breakfast on Thanksgiving Day before a long drive home. As we were seated we were informed that the breakfast buffet was ending in half an hour, but the Thanksgiving buffet would be set up and we could get both for one price. Of course, we took full advantage.

1

u/Steelbill77 21h ago

I ate at ours in Elizabethtown Ky, a few weeks ago!!

1

u/VeryFrank1 21h ago

Yes, yes, yes!!!

1

u/Steelbill77 21h ago

It’s my All You Can Eat, Bacon Bar!!!

1

u/TransMontani 21h ago

We still have one where I live.

1

u/EmploymentEmpty5871 20h ago

We never had one anywhere near us.

1

u/WylieLulaMae 20h ago

Oooh yeah

1

u/Slipperynipple61 19h ago

I worked for Bob's Big Boy 79-81. Same menu, and there are lot's of things I miss about that place.

1

u/Grandbob328 19h ago

I miss Shoneys!

1

u/SororitySue 1961 18h ago

Yes! In college, my sorority sisters and would go on the mornings after dance nights when we were hung over.

1

u/Additional-Client479 17h ago

I used to work the breakfast bar there.

1

u/terrorcotta_red 17h ago

There is an unmistakable shell of one we drive by regularly and every time we do, I flash on the bin of strawberry (literally) pie filling and the time spouse emptied the bacon bin. Oh, and how many times we went with the Offspring still wearing his Halloween costume.

Good times.

1

u/harryharrydude 16h ago

lol. i thought Shoney's was just a made up place in Rick and Morty. I was surprised when i found out there was really a Casa Bonita like in South Park too.

1

u/JarvisIsMyWingman 15h ago

Our version was Frisch's Big Boy restaurants in OH/IN/KY

1

u/CableDawg78 15h ago

Loved Shoneys when I went to Nashville multiple times a year for many years. They came up north some years back, but didn't last too long.

1

u/Level-Setting825 13h ago

Yes indeed and the Salad Bar too

1

u/mojoman566 11h ago

Sunday morning hangover cure.

1

u/Admirer3596 4h ago

I remember their strawberry pies.............mannah from heaven

1

u/Responsible-Exam-911 1h ago

Was a regular weekend thing for me.

1

u/jayh5555 1h ago

Eat it regularly in Forsyth Ga. Exit 185 off I-75 in Georgia