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| All images via MewDeep on Flickr |
According to the above advertisement that appeared in Esquire, more than 300 restaurant franchises were purchased...but I'm guessing that far less than that actually opened. The best information I could find was that by 1970 there were 8 restaurants operating, mostly in the Omaha, Nebraska area.
A clue to why the chain closed may be in a court record I found online from 1974. An advertising agency sued Johnny's American Inn, Inc. for failure to pay over $78,000 in advertising fees. Who knows if they ever recovered the money.
Too bad no commercials or ads for the restaurants themselves currently exist online.
The Laugh-In restaurants were owned by Chivers, the same company that launched Lum's, which was a more successful fast food chain.
Any of my readers ever eat at or remember Here's Johnny's or the Laugh-In restaurants?
