This has bugged me ever since my return to town in the 1970's... Does ANYONE know what ever happened to the Milligan's Restaurant's, home of the Great Fairfax Hamburger Wars (Lee, Jackson and Forrest students fighting for 'turf' by throwing hundreds of the little 5 cent hamburgers at each other), and and then there was the 'bean gun' fad.
For you kid's out there, think 'Krystal Burger' or 'White Castle'.
Are you talking about Penny Burgers? That and the Winn Dixie were replaced by the St Johns Village Center. That strip goes back to '87, but Penny Burgers(who also had a location at the beach) closed probably around '75-76
I dont remember Milligans, but I hear my grandparents talk about it.
I do remember Milligans, especially the one on Blanding, on the west side of the road, about 1/4 mile north of 103rd. I worked not far from there in the late sixties and early seventies. The small burgers were similar to Krystal burgers, but were square. The had a unique taste, each having plenty of pickle. To me, they had a better taste than the Krystal burger, and a better feel. Hell, I would eat four or five of them without wishing I hadn't. The fries were good too.
My employer's wife held an interest in the company, but I cannot remember her maiden name. If I see my old employer again, I will ask him what happened to Milligans. The Krystal on Main Street, on the east side of the road, was the one to which we high schoolers would meet up in the fifties. It was a typical drive-in, with the girls serving the parked autos.
This was before drugs were invented. Beer............. cold cold beer was the thing. Everyone had coolers in their autos. One large beer would make me feel good. Two would make me feel real good. The beer in those days was in heavier metal cans. Pop tops were not invented. One used the church key. If you didn't have a church key, you used a pocket knife. I remember Jax Beer in the mid fifties.
The family, it is my understanding, got older and the younger ones were no longer interested in running the restaurants. Thus went Milligans, a family operation, unlike Krystal, a corporate operation. Business's come and go, some good , some not, some evolve and change with the tastes of the public, some either will not or can not change. Ergo, Gulf Life, Jax Meats, Independent Life, Jax beer, etc. Its the way the free enterprise system works.
The term you are looking for is "creative destruction".
And I am sure some of you old timers will know that a few of the buildings are still standing. Lem Turner at Soutel which is now Jacks Sandwich Shop, a place I would recommend if you are out that way.
And one that is south of Gateway on Norwood, the new home of Warren Motors.