Thanks to Zak’s Auto Service for their support.
Here’s a look at fast food on Robert Street over the years.
Robert Street: 1973
In a 1978 column, Oliver Towne called Robert Street “Heartburn Highway.” He wasn’t done with the names, adding on “Ulcer Gulch,” “Junk Food Capital,” and “leading contender, if not world’s champion Fast Food Strip of America.”
He counted 36 fast food restaurants and decried, “The once-pastoral and rolling countryside has become a boulevard of garish signs, frustrating traffic jams and outlandish kitsch in architectural failures.”
Robert Street: 2025
The same stretch of Robert Street today is populated by a series of restaurants, though they’re not all fast food franchises:
- Embers is now Pineda.
- Kentucky Fried Chicken is now World Famous Momo.
- Burger King is now a new strip mall that includes Papa John’s.
While McDonald’s is across the street, there are also local options with Fireside and Thai Delicious.
Up and down Robert Street they boasted 36 fast food restaurants in 1978. Today we have a pretty similar number (we came up with 39, depending on how you count them). Though the “garish signs” that block the view are mostly under control thanks to a shift toward monument signs.
Popeyes may be the latest addition to “Heartburn Highway,” but fast food on Robert Street is nothing new.
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So sad that there are so few “healthy” options on Bob Street. . . and so few small business owned restaurants. We virtually never eat at or from anywhere on Bob Street. . . .
Yeah, the chain Papa John’s is the prominent one in this picture, but the other three are all locally owned—World Famous Momo, Pineda, and Fireside. Thai Delicious is across the street. Down a bit from Fireside is Ali Baba’s. Yes, there are lots of chains on Robert Street, but there are also plenty of locally-owned businesses. From 5-8 to the coming soon Mr. Mustacheos, from Tii Cupp to Taco Libre—we’ve got options.