Howard Johnson's

Howard Johnson by Wyndham
FormerlyHoward Johnson's
IndustryHotels, formerly restaurants
FoundedFebruary 1, 1925; 99 years ago (February 1, 1925) in Quincy, MA (restaurants)[1]
1954 (1954) in Savannah, GA (motor lodges)
FounderHoward Deering Johnson[2]
DefunctMarch 2022; 2 years ago (March 2022) (restaurants only)[3]
Headquarters
Parsippany, New Jersey
,
U.S.
Number of locations
Hotels: 285[4][5] (December 31, 2023 (December 31, 2023))
Areas served
North America, South America, Asia, Middle East[6]
Key people
Clement Bence (Brand President)
ParentWyndham Hotels & Resorts
Websitewww.wyndhamhotels.com/hojo

Howard Johnson by Wyndham,[7] still commonly referred to as Howard Johnson's, is an American hotel brand with over 200 hotels in 15 countries.[6] It was also formerly a restaurant chain, which at one time was the largest in the U.S., with more than 1,000 locations. Since 2006, all hotels and company trademarks, including those of the defunct restaurant chain, have been owned by Wyndham Hotels and Resorts.

Howard Johnson's restaurants originally started as a single location opened by Howard Deering Johnson in 1925 and grew into a substantial restaurant chain in the decades that followed. By the 1950s, the company expanded operations by opening hotels, then known as Howard Johnson's Motor Lodges, which were often located next to restaurants. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, it had become the largest restaurant chain in the U.S., with its combined company-owned and franchised outlets.[8]

Howard Johnson's restaurants were franchised separately from the hotel brand beginning in 1986 but, in the years that followed, severely dwindled in number until eventually disappearing altogether.[9] The last restaurant, in Lake George, New York, closed in 2022. The line of branded supermarket frozen foods, as well as its famous ice cream, is no longer manufactured.[10]

  1. ^ Office, United States Patent (1952). Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office. U.S. Patent Office. p. 1371.
  2. ^ "Wyndham Hotel Group - Company Backgrounder" (.pdf). Wyndham Hotel Group. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  3. ^ Diller, Nathan (2 June 2022). "The last Howard Johnson's restaurant closed, ending an era of Americana". Washington Post. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  4. ^ "Locations - Howard Johnson by Wyndham Hotels". Press Release. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  5. ^ "Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Inc. 2023 Annual Report 10-K" (PDF).
  6. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference locations was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Eisen, David (10 April 2018). "Ahead of spin-off, Wyndham Hotel Group puts a new spin on its brand names". Hotel Management. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  8. ^ "The last Howard Johnson's restaurant is for sale". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  9. ^ Canfield, Clarke (19 May 2005). "HoJo's Restaurants Are Fading Away". Los Angeles Times.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference fairfield was invoked but never defined (see the help page).