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. As of 2012, only about a dozen locations, now called Jerry's J-Boy Restaurants, are still open in Kentucky and southern Indiana.[1][2][3] At that time, there were also six Jerry's Restaurants in Oklahoma,[4] Nevada and Arizona that were franchised or owned by Sunwest Restaurant Concepts, Inc.[5][6][7]

Jerry's Restaurants
IndustryRestaurants
PredecessorWhite Tavern
FoundedWhite Tavern:
1929 in Shelbyville, Kentucky
Jerry's:
1946 in Lexington, Kentucky
FounderJerry Lederer
Area served
United States
OwnerJerrico, Inc. (until 1990)
Great American Restaurants (after 1990)

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.[8] The five-stool[9] restaurant opened in 1929, in Shelbyville, Kentucky.[8] White Tavern expanded during the 1930s,[10][11][12] and by 1943, it had 13 locations in three states.[9][8]

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.[9] 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.[8] Rosenthal became the company's chief executive officer in 1957, and franchising began that year.[13] Into the 1960s, the company expanded with a chain of drive-in restaurants.[8] Rosenthal became the company president in 1963,[13] following Lederer's death from a heart attack that year.[14]

As of 1965, the company had 53 locations in six states.[15] As of the company's 40th anniversary in 1969,[16][17][9] 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.[9]

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.[18] Following the sale, Great American Restaurants stated that it did not intend to convert the entire Jerry's chain into Denny's.[19] By 1993, several Jerry's restaurants in Kentucky had been converted to Denny's.[20][21][22]

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. Jerry's (January 1, 1970). "Google Maps". Google Maps. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
  5. "Sunwest Restaurant Concepts, Inc.: Private Company Information - Businessweek". Investing.businessweek.com. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
  6. "Powered by Google Docs". Retrieved November 19, 2012.
  7. http://starpas.cc.state.az.us/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=wsbroker1/corp-detail.p?name-id=L14955974
  8. "Jerrico's walls won't tumble down despite tough year". The Courier-Journal. December 25, 1977. Retrieved December 27, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "5-Stool Hamburger Stand Grows to 67 Restaurants". The Courier-Journal. April 15, 1969. Retrieved December 27, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "White Tavern Opens For Business Today". Kentucky Advocate. March 5, 1934. Retrieved December 27, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "White Tavern Opened Today". The Advocate-Messenger. March 5, 1934. Retrieved December 27, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. "New Shop Opened By White Tavern". Kentucky Advocate. March 16, 1936. Retrieved December 27, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. "Rosenthal gift spurs $17,000 toward goal". The Paducah Sun. January 18, 1985. Retrieved December 27, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. "Chain-Restaurant Operator Jerome M. Lederer Dies". The Courier-Journal. February 18, 1963. Retrieved December 27, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. "Open House For Jerry's Drive-In". Tallahassee Democrat. November 25, 1965. Retrieved December 27, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. "Jerry's Restaurant observes anniversary". Daily Journal. April 28, 1967. Retrieved December 27, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. "38th Anniversary To Be Observed By Jerry's Chain". Palladium-Item. April 30, 1967. Retrieved December 27, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. "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.
  19. "Most Jerry's to Keep Name, Menu". Lexington Herald-Leader. January 23, 1991. Retrieved December 27, 2018 – via NewsLibrary.
  20. "Jerry's Restaurants, Switching to Denny's, Now Serving 24 Hours". Lexington Herald-Leader. October 4, 1991. Retrieved December 27, 2018 – via NewsLibrary.
  21. "Denny's picks up where Jerry's leaves off". Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer. August 13, 1992. Retrieved December 27, 2018 – via NewsLibrary.
  22. "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.
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