Jackson’s West Avenue Ain’t What it Used to Be

WEST AVENUE AIN’T WHAT IT USED TO BE

Sure, there are plenty of places to eat on West Avenue between I-94 and North Street; but there has been such a shakeup in the past few decades. Restaurants have closed, moved, and been re-named.

With my personal memories of West Avenue going back to the 1960s, the following recollections may be limited...

Get our free mobile app

Going back to the 60s, I remember the original West Avenue location of McDonald’s...it was right next to Dawn Donuts, which is now Dunkin’ Donuts. That former McDonald’s is now a realtor office.

Back then, the only items on the menu were a hamburger, double hamburger, cheeseburger, double cheeseburger, Big Mac, fish sandwich, fries, shakes, and pop. When I was in high school, my buddies and I would drive there and order everything on the menu...for each of us...and eat it all. It became a weekend ritual.

Further north on West Avenue there was Burger Chef, who many preferred over McDonald’s. Burger Chef was in the building that now is Fazoli’s. Kitty-corner across the street was Bea’s Drive-In, one of West Avenue’s most-missed fast food joints. Also on the east side of the avenue was Pizza Hut, KFC, Big Boy, and Ponderosa Steak House.

On the west side of West Avenue was one of my favorite places to eat late at night: Sambo’s, located on the corner of West and Argyle, which is now Sleep Doctor. Before Denny’s opened, Sambo’s is where we went for steak and eggs when the bars closed at 2am. Denny’s opened for business in the late 70s, and Sambo’s closed in 1982.

Other West Avenue restaurants that came, went, and kind of stayed were:
Bob Evans original location, which is now AKAK Sushi
Holly’s Steak and 4, which is now Aaron’s
Howard Johnson’s, just a tad off West Avenue, now a Texas Roadhouse
Kentucky Fried Chicken, which is now an Urgent Care facility
Pizza Hut, now an abandoned income tax service
Ponderosa Steakhouse, now Los Tres Amigos

I’m sure there were many, many others, but these were the ones that came top of mind. Feel free to name even more!