This Restaurant Was The King of New York Rest Stops For 30 Years
For nearly three decades the New York State Thruway was the only place you could get this iconic fast food chain. Now, it is gone from New York, possibly forever.
We always talk about the glory days and things from our past because once they're gone, they're gone. Nostalgia is a powerful thing. It can make you feel every kind of emotion, and that's why people like to have those "remember when" conversations, despite Tony Soprano's feelings on them.
If you grew up in the 90s and made a trip up and down the New York State Thruway you 100% ate at one of the greatest restaurants of all time. I am of course talking about the great, Roy Rogers. According to this internet data base that I found they first popped up at 7 different thruway rest stops around 1992. They stuck around until around 2021 when all the rest stops got a much needed makeover.
This place was fantastic and like no other fast food place that I had ever been to in my life. I think the first time that I went was in the mid 90s, maybe around 1994, on the way back from a New York Mets game.
I know it might not seem like much now, but that Fixins Bar they had was the best thing in the world. There was something amazing about being able to assemble your own burger that made us all happy.
Check out this video from someone's stop at a NJ rest area and see for yourself. That place was magic.
How many Roy Rogers are in New York now?
None! Yes, you read that correctly, there are none. As a matter of fact there really aren't that many left, and most of them are in Maryland. See the full list of locations here.
Yes, our NY rest stops now have Chick-fil_A and Shake Shack, but nothing will compare to seeing the glowing red light of a Roy Rogers on a road trip in New York State.