An Alternate Howard Johnson's

Hope for HoJo's
By 1985, Howard Johnson's was a struggling company, with its hotel chain making more money. Times seemed hopeless, until the franchisees formed a company, called Franchise Associates, and bought both chains, having originally considered buying just the restaurant chain, in early 1986. They decided that they needed to update the chains.

Updates
The first restaurant to be owned and operated by FAI was in Canton, MA., which was a prototype location in the late 1940s. They decided to update the location a bit, with a new logo, and adding an exaggerated pointed arch entryway. The interior kept its furniture, but added TVs and photos of older locations. Also, they tweaked the menu a bit and, seeing that competitor Baskin-Robbins had 31 flavors whereas HoJo's had 28, decided to add ten more flavors including six vegan options. FAI convinced not just existing franchisees to add the arch, but also enticed new franchisees to join the chain. They also brought back Simple Simon and the Pieman. The motor lodge chain went back to having an A-frame gatehouse and had four floors on the hotels. FAI had suceeded in regaining HoJo's former luster, and by 1995, had over 10,000 locations.

Present Day
HoJo's owns Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut, and Dog n Suds. The chain surpassed McDonald's in 2013 and became a Fortune 100 company at that time. The chain continues to grow economically, and has over 60,000 restaurants and 35,000 motor lodges worldwide.