12 restaurant chains you loved that don't exist anymore

One thing we learn in life is that businesses come and go. Even the places once thought to be large enough to last forever. Here's 12 popular North American restaurant chains that did not stand the test of time.

7. Morrison’s Cafeteria

(Diners in Morrison’s Cafeteria in Tallahassee, Florida on November 15, 1984. Courtesy of the State Archives of Florida.)

If your family attended a Southern church on Sunday prior to 1998, you’re most likely really familiar with Morrison’s Cafeteria and its menu. A symbol of Southern cooking, the chain and cafeteria dining concept was established by J.A. Morrison in Mobile, Alabama in 1920. At its height, Morrison’s operated 151 restaurants in 13 states. By the 1990s, the cafeteria dining concept was in decline, leading to Morrison’s being acquired by Piccadilly Cafeterias in 1998. Piccadilly Cafeterias, which is struggling to stay afloat itself, maintains one location branded as a Morrison’s Fresh Cooking in the former chain’s hometown of Mobile.

8. Po’ Folks

(Courtesy of Po’ Folks)

Named after a hit single by country music singer Bill Anderson in 1961, Po’ Folks was established by Malcom Hare in 1975. The Anderson, South Carolina chain’s rise and fall ended up being pretty swift. Nine years after it’s creation, the chain had grown to have 102 restaurants in 17 states. In 1988, four years later, it filed for bankruptcy. After most of its locations were closed and assets sold, eight restaurants remain alive in Florida’s Panhandle, St. Petersburg, Florida and Enterprise, Alabama.

9. Rax Roast Beef

(An open Rax Restaurant on E. Main St. in Lancaster, OH. Courtesy of AndrewSP at the English language Wikipedia.)

In Springfield, Ohio, Jack Roschman founded the JAX Roast Beef in 1967. Eventually renamed “Rax”, the chain grew 504 locations during the 1980s. The successful chain attempted to diversify its offering by expanding the menu to include everything from pizza and pasta, to Chinese food and tacos. Blurring their core business had the opposite effect, forcing the company into Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1992. If you can find them, there were 8 locations still around by March 2016.