Yankee Doodle Dandy (restaurant)

Yankee Doodle Dandy was a hamburger restaurant chain started in Bensenville, Illinois in December 1966 by brothers Chris and Bill Proyce as the Yankee Doodle House.[1][2] The chain had as many as 27 restaurants, 7 company owned and the rest franchised, in the Chicago area by 1976.[1] Yankee Doodle had restaurants on 125th and Burleigh streets in Brookfield, Wis. and at 1119 N. La Grange Road in La Grange Park, Illinois during the 1970's. (The La Grange Park site is now a "Jiffy Lube".) The buildings had a red, white and blue motif. Their slogan in the early 1970's was "Come On Down Where The Good Times Are! Yankee Doodle Dandy!" Their T.V. ads featured an attractive woman in a 1776 "Betsy Ross" style costume. The restaurant had a design and menu similar to Burger Chef and Burger King. According to some sources, the chain went out of business in the early 1980s.[3]

Yankee Doodle Dandy
  • Yankee Doodle House
  • Yankee Doodle Dandy
TypePrivate
IndustryRestaurant
FateReplaced by Bailey's Restaurant & Bar
FoundedDecember 1966 (1966-12) in Bensenville, Illinois
Founders
  • Chris Proyce
  • Bill Proyce
DefunctEarly 1980s
HeadquartersUnited States
Area served
Suburban Chicago
ProductsHamburgers

Starting in 1981, the Proyce family decide to withdraw from the fast food industry and refocus their efforts in casual dining restaurant and bar industry through the conversion of two of the company owned Yankee Doodles in Elmhurst and Arlington Heights into the new Bailey's Restaurant & Bar concept while closing the rest of the fast food operations.[4] Eventually a total of four Bailey's Restaurant & Bar were opened by 1988. The last remaining Bailey's Restaurant & Bar (as of Aug. 2020) is at 17731 Oak Park Ave. #A, Tinley Park, Illinois [5][6]

See also

References
  1. Lazarus, George (May 11, 1976). "Yankee Doodle Dandy: Name with '76 ring". Chicago Tribune. ProQuest 617510732. Retrieved June 10, 2012.
  2. "Yankee Doodle House ad announcing its opening in Bensenville". Daily Herald Suburban Chicago. December 22, 1966. p. 84. Alternate Link via NewspaperArchive.com.
  3. "The Art and History of Cermak Plaza". Pleasant Family Shopping. February 1, 2010. Retrieved June 10, 2012.
  4. "Hearing is set on conversion of fast-food eatery". Daily Herald Suburban Chicago. December 1, 1982. p. 5. Alternate Link via NewspaperArchive.com.
  5. Anderson, Helen (October 20, 1991). "Yankee Doodle Beginnings Were A Dandy Start For Bailey's". Chicago Tribune.
  6. Anderson, Helen (July 12, 1992). "Transformation To Bailey's Suits Yankee Doodles Dandy". Chicago Tribune.


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