I'm from the area, and I live about a half-mile away from this location. There's an open Denny's right down the street; this location was never a Denny's. The GFS (Gordon Food Service) next door was built about 15 years ago, and believe it or not, a Red Lobster from the 70s previously occupied the GFS site before moving to the mall nearby. This Bakers Square opened as a Poppin' Fresh Pies about 40 years ago, and spent about 30 of those years as Bakers Square. Poppin' Fresh had the same kind of menu as Bakers Square (family restaurant/coffee shop). The cream pies were amazing! Per Wikipedia, only 13 Bakers Square locations remain in the U.S.
I was an employee here for 5 years right up until it closed. This brought back crazy memories. The business had crazy flaws, but all of my coworkers are friends now. We keep in contact and all have new jobs!
I grew up in North Olmsted, my Dad and Uncle used to love going there. They had the best French Silk Pie!! We miss it! I believe there's still a Baker Square in Parma Heights.
❤️ this video. My mom & I would go here at least once a week before she passed so I'll be saving this video so i can a memory of my mom when I watch. Side note- I worked at ground round many years ago & walked in 1 day & got told to go home because they were closing immediately- no notice at all
There were many Baker's Square restaurants in the Chicago the suburbs and northwest Indiana. Before around 1984 the chain was called Poppin' Fresh. Some Chicago area restaurants closed around 2020 before the pandemic.
Back in the 1970's, there was a Baker's Square and Bakery in Birmingham, Michigan. The Baker's Square and Bakery Restaurant Chain has pulled out of the Detroit, Michigan area. The Baker's Square and Bakery is a Todd's Room Beauty Salon. The picture of the Baker's Square and Bakery looks like the Baker's Square and Bakery Restaurant in Birmingham, Michigan.
If you guys are still in the area come to Elyria Ohio it’s about 25 mins from north Olmsted right down the highway. We got recently abandoned ihop (midway mall area) Burger King old school design (Cleveland st) Hometown Buffa (midway mall everything still inside) County kitchen (midway mall) Midway mall on life support probably 7 stores left Sears (midway mall) Old McDonald’s (downtown Elyria) So much of what you explore is here your love it highly recommend
Great job on all your content. I'm an urban explorer from way back. Not sure if you've ever heard of Thurmond, WV. It's a huge ghost town. Accessible to the public. Lotta info on RU-vid and elsewhere
I remember this growing up in the area, same general exterior even in the 80s. Always liked the drive thru pies. Like others said it was always a bakers square, poppin fresh way long ago. Food was good, service was good. Definitely catered to an older clientele, would be packed on senior discount days (weds?). Sad to see it go, was a staple on Lorain Road, Manhattan deli across the street is also gone I think…
I google mapped it and did the street view and rewind the view to the year 2008 and it was always a Bakers Square. Building Structure was different back in 2008. I just read they shut down after emerging from bankruptcy and been acquire by another restaurant chain. The closure of that particular location was due to the acquisition by the other restaurant chain. Wow i drive by this location everyday and I am absolutely speechless that they left the restaurant intact inside with the registers on and everything. That's shocking
Plenty of Bakers Squares looked like this. Their food is amazing! In my area in Mentor, there is one right by the Dollar Tree on Plaza Blvd in front of Best Buy that is still open.
Denny's and Bakers Square are very similar, but this building is very typical for Bakers Square (except for the drive thru...that's different). The pie is OK, but it's not homemade or anything, it's frozen and thawed out.
If you're in the cleveland area there's an abandoned Ames/ Gold Circle still all original intact off of Tiedaman in old Brooklyn OH almost directly across Memphis Kiddie Park.
Wow you were near were I live at. I'm down in FairviewPark Down the Street. You should had visited the abandoned Toys R Us and Baby's R Us up the street from that place
This location was one of 33 restaurants nationwide permanently shuttered in January of 2020 after parent company American Blue Ribbon Holdings, LLC filed for bankruptcy. In the 1970s and ’80s, the chain, then known as Poppin’ Fresh Pies, became a popular spot for casual family dining and desserts such as its French Silk and Dutch Apple pies. BBQ Holdings now owns them.
It does look like it could reopen any time…. Lots more will be closing. I read a list the other day and names that have been around for a long long time. Our world is no longer the same…. Always enjoyed their pies. Closed the chains in the Twin Cities area also.
Bakers sqaure is a national chain there is still one in nearby parma hts..it mainly appealed to the older crowd...the pies were good but after a while food quality was bad. The chain is currently owned by bbq holdings the company behind famous daves
For the record(as Wallie was wondering that out loud during this video), Denny's and Bakers Square definitely had different building designs each of their own. I'm pretty sure that this location was more than likely never a Denny's, and was built as Bakers Square from the first day this location opened as one. Also for those who don't know, at some point in the 1980s this chain changed their name from Poppin' Fresh, to Bakers Square. I do still wonder how Village Inn got into being a sister restaurant, to Bakers Square. Like say at some point that both Bakers Square and Village Inn chose to merge but were originally founded separately, a la Hardee's and Carl's Jr. deciding to merge, and(at least from what I've previously read) also Rally's and Checkers merging?
I live in Wisconsin we had 4 of them up here and when covid hit they closed all of them within a weak kind of stunk the food was good the pies were great
They are known for free pie wendsday (with purchase of a meal) there is only 2 I know of one nearby in parma heights and the other is in mentor alot of older customers still refer to this place as poppin fresh they also have huge classic car cruise shows in the parking lot when the weather is nice
I really like when you do the Intro to your video "Look at the Front it's says Ames Real Big" it makes me laugh every time when you zoom in the sign and say the words. It's makes me want to see a Ames very badly. I've never seen a Ames before but it's very rare to one if you have a chance to because some are abandoned and falling apart. If you tried to get into one the police will take notice and say stay out of there it's too dangerous.
Looked at their locations; most are just pies available at Famous Dave’s; there are few full restaurants left; this area you filmed, the Famous Dave’s has the pies.
Hello friends, wallie this restaurant looks like it started out as a western sizzler or a famous Anthony's before the last place had it , love you guys always like family and may God bless you guys always and forever hope to hear back from you guys soon thanks my friends
If you're still in the area and if you haven't visited the toys R Us and baby r us, is near there. Is on 27048 Lorain Rd North Olmsted. The abandoned Baby's R Us is on 26520 Lorain Rd North Olmsted. Also if you go down the street toward cleveland on 14901 Lorain Road Cleveland, you will witness history in the making as there is a Kmart been torn down and turned into a Shopping Center that will house an Aldis and Ross, Burlington, Biglots and a bunch of other stores. The place looks like a nightmare now Lol.
I am a big fan of your page here is a fast food joint you might want to check out there is only 1 left when there was more then 150 locations it would be Hot N Now in Sturgis Michigan.
This was not a Lenny's, but Lenny's is very close by. But when I went Here a lot, and the last bunch o times I went here the place Literallly STANK SOOOOO Bad like old people diapers. Not joking. Dont know how any1 handled eating there. It was Bad. P.s., when I say Lenny's, it's a joke, from the old fashioned Dennys commercials.
Kenny Rogers Roasters did the same thing, except the whole company suddenly folded. The employees left for the night and next day some arrived too open up, only too discover information posted on filling for unemployment as corporate had shut down. A few others have done that also, closed with no warnings at all.
If you tell me, Todd we're closing in a month, so start job hunting. I'll be upset, but I'll respect the place. Tell me Todd you wasted gas to get here we're closed, then I may trash the place.
But that’s just the way corporate businesses run they run to keep corporate going in when they start losing money is when they close out so they can maintain their profits as rich millionaires now that’s not to say that this company could be taking a dive and the actual owner of the company is going broke that is a possibility to so to say that they still have their millions could be wrong. I wish everyone would go back to small local businesses with small local farms spread all over the landscape like it was back in the 60s and before. Back in the Times before we saw corporate business trying to compete with communist countries and other countries in general that’s the only reason the government went corporate and that’s the only reason they screwed over the small farmers so they could become one with other countries in the corporate market personal gain versus human interest is what that’s called. And yes Covid was a big contributor to some of businesses closing which was shocking especially when it’s a corporate chain you don’t think that anything could stop at corporate chain and then a virus comes it just goes to show you how some people can’t manage their corporations that well because this is proof of someone who owns a corporation that just doesn’t know how to manage it properly like they should there’s a proper way to managing a corporate business in order to stay in business from what I have observed in when you see businesses like this leave you know they had the lack of management
