Welcome to
the Lendy's
Web Page, part 5.
Welcome to
the Lendy's
Web Page, part 5.
Featuring Salem and Roanoke Va.'s most FAMOUS restaurant chain.
click on IMAGE for another view
The Early
Years
In 1955 a new
restaurant opened at the intersection of Va. Rt. 119 (near 419) and
Apperson Dr. (Lee Hwy.). It wasn't a Lendy's at first, but it would
become the first Lendy's. Leonard Goldstein opened this restaurant as
a Shoney's, but after four years he dropped the franchise, and
Lendy's was born.
click on IMAGE for later photo
Leonard Goldstein, founder
of Lendy's Restaurants.
click IMAGE to download story 
Read Shawna Morrison's 2003 Roanoke Times story on Leonard
Goldstein.
apperson drive Lendy's
The banner at the top of the window is inviting you to "Enjoy Moonlight Serenade with Jerry Joynes Nightly on WROV". Later there would be Jivin' Jackson in the broadcast booth atop the restaurant on Lee Highway.
apperson drive (lee-hi)
The Canopies
First in the
valley, the canopies were a big part of Lendy's. You were sure to see
some of your friends there when you pulled in on a Friday night.
Business picked up by 30% after they were
installed.
They made day and night parking much "cooler".
click on IMAGE to order
The
TeleTrays
At first the curb girls had to keep an eye out for cars coming on the lot, then go and take their orders. Now a TeleTray operator inside took care of that. Drive up, scan the menu, press the button and place your order. Most of these new ideas for drive-ins were coming from the west coast.
The Rotating Buckets
The large tilted motorized spinning Kentucky Fried Chicken buckets were designed in Roanoke by Leonard Goldstein in 1961.
Colonel Sanders was so impressed with these, that he insisted they be the standard sign for all his outlets. The Colonel also wanted them to be made by Roy Kinsey Signs in Roanoke who had made Leonard's, but due to the large volume required, they were manufactured by a Kentucky manufacturer instead.
click IMAGE to see Gold Nugget's unique menu
This is the architect's drawing for the Lendy's Cafe / Gold Nugget on Williamson Road. It didn't end up looking quite like this (see page 1).
click on IMAGE for exterior demolition view
Here is an early shot of the interior of the Lendy's on Ward's Road
in Lynchburg. This building was torn down on December 2nd 1990, after
standing at that location for over 30 years. You can see Big Boy on
the
menus at the counter.
roanoke times ads from november
1963
Lendy's Vs. Yoda's
As mentioned earlier, Lendy's and Yoda's were competitors. Both were licensed to sell the Big Boy sandwich in the Roanoke area. Lendy's had the South side of town and Yoda's had the North. Notice in the Lendy's ad that the Melrose Ave. "Take-Home" shoppe served the Buddy Boy instead of the Big Boy.
Yoda's
matchbook
The Lendy's Radio Commercials
Jingle #1 Peace, Love and Strawberry Pie
Jingle #2 The Splendy is Somethin' Else
Jingle #3 Lendy's Loves Kids
The ads were produced by Creative Advertising in Roanoke. Some of the people involved were (L to R) Fred Frelantz, Tommy Holcomb, John Hartmann and Sharon MaHarry (Not Pictured).
Tommy Holcomb wrote the jingles
and sang lead on Peace Love and Strawberry Pie, Joy Ellis sang lead
on the other two. Other musicians included Rodger Dixon, Grant Ellis,
Fred Frelantz and Perry Caligan. Also, the background girls on Peace
Love were a couple of singers from Greensboro, where that one was
recorded. The other two were recorded at Ed Parcell's old studio,
Associated Recording, on Church Ave. They were played frequently on
Roanoke radio station WROV.
The Lendy's T.V. Commercials (in QuickTime)
The television ads were
produced by Creative Advertising and WDBJ-TV in
Roanoke.
The Splendy Contest
Lendy's held a contest in the early 60's to pick a name for their new sandwich, which would become the "Splendy". This was Lendy's first original specialty sandwich, a large "California" style burger, dressed with lettuce, tomato, mayonaisse, onion & pickle. This photo shows the first prize, a Stereo TV console.
More Lendy's Pics II
A color interior shot of the Madison Heights Lendy's. Drop in "La Carreta" Mexican restaurant on US Rt. 460 sometime to reminisce.
click IMAGE to see original Mainliner
interior
The men repainting the Lendy's sign in front of the Franklin Rd.
Mainliner give scale to its size. This location was remodeled and
enlarged after a fire in the mid '60s.
Click
here
to see interior after remodeling.
Photographs Courtesy Leonard Goldstein
Ad's Courtesy Pat Dotson (Pat's Cafe)
Radio & TV Ads Courtesy Tommy Holcomb
Graphic Assistance, Kipp Teague
This Web Site Created By Twig Gravely
