Jerry's Restaurants

Jerry's Restaurants is an American restaurant chain founded by Jerry Lederer, who initially opened the White Tavern restaurant in Kentucky in 1929. Lederer subsequently opened Jerry's in 1946, and franchising began in 1957. Very similar to Big Boy restaurants, Jerry's was located in the Midwest and South. Following a sale of the company in 1990, some Jerry's restaurants were converted to Denny's by the new owners. By 2012, about a dozen locations had remained in Kentucky and southern Indiana, some of which were called Jerry's J-Boy Restaurants.[1][2][3] By 2021, only one location remained open, in Paris, Kentucky.

Jerry's Restaurants
IndustryRestaurants
PredecessorWhite Tavern
FoundedWhite Tavern:
1929 in Shelbyville, Kentucky
Jerry's:
1946 in Lexington, Kentucky
FounderJerry Lederer
Number of locations
1 (2021)
Area served
United States
Key people
Barry Sargent General Manager of Paris, Kentucky Location
OwnerJerrico, Inc. (until 1990)
Great American Restaurants (after 1990)

An unrelated separate chain of Jerry's restaurants, named after co-founder Jerry Goucher, operates in the western United States. As of 2021, it has four locations in Arizona, Nevada, and Oklahoma.

History

Jerry Lederer, a resident of Louisville, Kentucky, had been inspired by the success of White Castle hamburger stands and decided to open his own hamburger stand named White Tavern Shop.[4] The five-stool[5] restaurant opened in 1929, in Shelbyville, Kentucky.[4] White Tavern expanded during the 1930s,[6][7][8] and by 1943, it had 13 locations in three states.[5][4]

Only two White Tavern locations remained following the effects of World War II rationing. In 1946, Lederer opened a 14-stool roast beef sandwich stand named Jerry's, in Lexington, Kentucky.[5] At approximately the same time, Warren W. Rosenthal, a student at the University of Kentucky, rented an apartment in Lederer's home; they subsequently became friends, and Rosenthal joined the Jerry's Restaurants company in 1948.[4][9] Rosenthal became the company's chief executive officer in 1957, and franchising began that year.[10] Into the 1960s, the company expanded with a chain of drive-in restaurants.[4] Rosenthal became the company president in 1963,[10] following Lederer's death from a heart attack that year.[11]

As of 1965, the company had 53 locations in six states.[12] As of the company's 40th anniversary in 1969,[13][14][5] it had 67 locations, many of them in the Lexington and Louisville areas. The company was operated by the Lexington-based Jerrico, Inc., with Rosenthal as Jerrico's president. Jerrico operated 16 company owned restaurants, while the rest were franchised. Some White Tavern locations remained in New Jersey, but under different ownership.[5] In 1969, Jerrico launched a new restaurant chain, Long John Silver's. It became a success and was Jerrico's primary business focus moving forward.

Jerry's was particularly successful in Kentucky during the 1960s and 1970s.[15] On May 1, 1990, Jerrico announced it would sell its 46 Jerry's locations to the Atlanta-based Great American Restaurants, the largest franchisee of Denny's. Great American Restaurants planned to gradually convert most of the Jerry's locations into Denny's.[16] The Jerry's restaurants were mostly located in Kentucky and Indiana. Jerrico sold the chain in order to focus on its Long John Silver's brand.[17]

Following the sale, Great American Restaurants stated that it did not intend to convert the entire Jerry's chain into Denny's.[18] By 1993, several Jerry's restaurants in Kentucky had been converted to Denny's.[19][20][21] Others continued operating under the Jerry's name.[15]

Some Jerry's restaurants became known as Jerry's J-Boy.[22][23] By 2015, the number of locations had decreased, although there were still at least three locations, all located in Kentucky.[15] Two locations closed in early 2020,[22][23] leaving only one location in Paris, Kentucky.[24][25]

Western U.S. chain

A separate chain of Jerry's Restaurants has operated in the western United States since the 1960s.[26][27] It was founded by Thomas and Jerry Goucher,[28] the latter of whom died in 2005, at the age of 78.[29] The Jerry's Restaurants company was later renamed as Sunwest Restaurant Concepts, Inc.[30] As of 2021, there were four restaurants remaining, located in Arizona, Nevada, and Oklahoma.[27][31]

References
  1. "Louisville Restaurants Forum • View topic - Jerry's J-boy". Forums.louisvillehotbytes.com. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
  2. "JBOY'S's Home Page". Jerrysjboy.dine.com. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
  3. "Neon Eateries Midwest 6". Roadside Peek. November 24, 2008. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
  4. "Jerrico's walls won't tumble down despite tough year". The Courier-Journal. December 25, 1977. Retrieved December 27, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "5-Stool Hamburger Stand Grows to 67 Restaurants". The Courier-Journal. April 15, 1969. Retrieved December 27, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "White Tavern Opens For Business Today". Kentucky Advocate. March 5, 1934. Retrieved December 27, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "White Tavern Opened Today". The Advocate-Messenger. March 5, 1934. Retrieved December 27, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "New Shop Opened By White Tavern". Kentucky Advocate. March 16, 1936. Retrieved December 27, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. Ward, Karla (October 21, 2019). "Lexington businessman, philanthropist Warren Rosenthal has died". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  10. "Rosenthal gift spurs $17,000 toward goal". The Paducah Sun. January 18, 1985. Retrieved December 27, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Chain-Restaurant Operator Jerome M. Lederer Dies". The Courier-Journal. February 18, 1963. Retrieved December 27, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. "Open House For Jerry's Drive-In". Tallahassee Democrat. November 25, 1965. Retrieved December 27, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. "Jerry's Restaurant observes anniversary". Daily Journal. April 28, 1967. Retrieved December 27, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. "38th Anniversary To Be Observed By Jerry's Chain". Palladium-Item. April 30, 1967. Retrieved December 27, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. Truman, Cheryl (August 23, 2015). "Jerry's Restaurants, the eatery that dominated in the '60s and '70s, now dwindling". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  16. "Jerrico Will Sell Jerry's, Fazoli's Japanese, Atlanta Firms to Buy Restaurants". Lexington Herald-Leader. May 2, 1990. Retrieved December 27, 2018 – via NewsLibrary.
  17. "Jerrico Is Selling Restaurant Chains". The New York Times. Reuters. May 2, 1990. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  18. "Most Jerry's to Keep Name, Menu". Lexington Herald-Leader. January 23, 1991. Retrieved December 27, 2018 – via NewsLibrary.
  19. "Jerry's Restaurants, Switching to Denny's, Now Serving 24 Hours". Lexington Herald-Leader. October 4, 1991. Retrieved December 27, 2018 – via NewsLibrary.
  20. "Denny's picks up where Jerry's leaves off". Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer. August 13, 1992. Retrieved December 27, 2018 – via NewsLibrary.
  21. "Landmark Lost / Oldest Jerry's Restaurant to Close Sunday, Will Reopen as Denny's Within 2 Weeks". Lexington Herald-Leader. October 10, 1992. Retrieved December 27, 2018 – via NewsLibrary.
  22. Sheroan, Ben (January 16, 2020). "Jerry's closes in Radcliff". The News-Enterprise. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  23. "Jerry's J-Boy Restaurant extends closing date to late March". WLKY. February 16, 2020. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  24. Cawthon, Haley (January 28, 2020). "Longstanding restaurant to close its last Louisville location". Louisville Business First. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  25. Benefield, Chadwick (April 29, 2021). "If You Miss Jerry's Restaurants, There's Still One Open in Kentucky". WOMI Owensboro. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  26. "New Restaurant Opens In Yreka". The Sacramento Bee. April 27, 1967. Retrieved May 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. "Jerry's Restaurants official website". Retrieved May 7, 2021. Jerry's restaurants were originally founded by the Goucher family in 1964. The chain grew to over 50 locations throughout the western states. The concept, named after Grandma Goucher's son, Jerry, was based on the many popular coffeeshop style restaurants of the time.
  28. "News". The Sacramento Bee. August 21, 1990. Retrieved May 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  29. "Jerry A. Goucher". Siskiyou Daily News. December 20, 2005. Retrieved May 7, 2021 – via NewsLibrary.
  30. "Sunwest Restaurant Concepts, Inc.: Private Company Information - Businessweek". Investing.businessweek.com. Archived from the original on October 8, 2012. Sunwest Restaurant Concepts, Inc. operates a chain of restaurants in Oregon, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, and Oklahoma. Sunwest Restaurant Concepts, Inc. was formerly known as Jerry's Restaurant. The company was founded in 1962 and is based in Phoenix, Arizona.
  31. Swarner, Jessica (June 11, 2019). "Jerry's Restaurant in Phoenix closing for good Wednesday after 53 years". KTAR. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
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