Local historian and author Anthony Sammarco recently shared the history of Howard Johnson restaurants with a Council on Aging audience at the Tolles Parsons Center in Wellesley. He only made a brief mention of the Wellesley edition of the restaurant, which was located at 92 Central St., now home to Alta Strada.
According to the Wellesley Historical Society, Howard Johns0n’s opened here in 1946 and closed in 1984, with the owner citing high rent. The last of this once large restaurant chain, known for its 28 flavors of ice cream and buildings with orange roofs, closed in 2022.
Have memories of Howard Johnson’s in Wellesley? Please share in the comments. Got any photos of you or others there that we could add to this post? If so, please send to: theswellesleyreport@gmail.com
I was recently surprised to be in the former Howard Johnson’s space and realize that the layout including the bar, booths, and stairs down to the bathroom seemed to be just the same as they were in the 1960s. Is that the case? Also, was HoJo’s one of the few places in town to have a liquor license? My family ate there often in the 1960s, but my memories are hazy. Is anyone else’s better on this?
I don’t think they served alcohol.
I waitressed there on Sundays while in high school, 1979-81, and we definitely served liquor. I remember because I wasn’t allowed to bring drinks to the table because I was under 18, the drinking age back then!