Remembering Howard Johnson’s restaurants in Wellesley & beyond

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