Before McDonald's, This Beloved Restaurant Chain Once Ruled American Roads - Chowhound

Baileystable/Getty Images If you've heard the name "Howard Johnson's," you may associate it with roadside motels somewhere on the spectrum of "run-down" to "serviceable." But look back to the mid-20th century, and it was actually the world's largest restaurant chain and a pioneer for the now-ubiquitous franchise restaurant model. It started a century ago when Howard Deering Johnson opened an eponymous soda…