Lendy's

Lendy's was a restaurant chain that was opened in Salem, Virginia on November 2 1955 by Leonard Goldstein. Originally a Shoney's Big Boy franchise, Goldstein took the business independent in 1961, and renamed it Lendy's after his daughter. Success followed with most locations following the "Coffee Shop" inside and "Drive-In" outside format. Favorites served there included Lendy's "Buddy Boy" double decker hamburger with its special sauce, the "Longfella" ham and cheese sandwich served on its "Grecian roll", homemade Onion Rings, "Brawny Lad" sirloin on rye bun. Another specialty was Lendy's famous Strawberry Pie. Also in 1961, Lendy's obtained the franchise rights to Colonel Sanders' "Kentucky Fried Chicken", which was becoming very popular at the time. Numerous visits were made to the Roanoke and Salem Virginia Lendy's locations by Col. Sanders. Expansion included many locations in Virginia in cities such as Roanoke, Salem, Vinton, Lynchburg, Blacksburg, Radford, Richmond and Lexington. At its peak, the restaurants numbered up to 50 locations. The chain survived into the mid 1970s when drive-ins were falling by the wayside, replaced by pizza and fast food establishments.

Links

* [http://members.cox.net/lendys/ Official site]

*Curb girls and Teletray electronic ordering devices made this Drive-In the place to be in the Roanoke Valley during the '50s and '60s.