Johnny Rockets being replaced by arcade.

Perkins has great sugar cookies.

Compared to 1900+ Waffle Houses, 1500+ Dennys, 1600+ IHOPS in the states.

342 seems to be a pretty small player.

eChameleon:

Perkins has great sugar cookies.

So does my mom

I’ll admit, Perkins is great, but I think they could do their own diner type place, and could bring in more menu items from the park

In response to @Jeffs notion about the current arcade ceili6being too low for a dark ride..

What if CP pulls a Disney? And has a seemingly low ceiling building, but then digs downwards and creates more headroom underneath, big basement.

Beanie- In that spot? They had that with Breakers Coffee Shop. And not so much with a lot of items from the park but they did have desserts, ice cream and things like that in the evening. And this was all before the big Breakers reno, so…

Anyway, Perkins isn’t my favorite breakfast here at home- we have a lot better local places here. But I was kind of relieved that Perkins took over at Breakers. The menu is consistent and familiar, the service seems streamlined, and the wait is shorter. In other words the CP effort at that location always seemed to fall short.

On the subject of the JR’s removal, I wouldn’t necessarily get too attached to the notion that an arcade will be a permanent fixture in that empty spot. The official info from the park had a vague sound to it. As I may have already pointed out somewhere, games of that sort are very portable. Walls and electricity can be easily moved. I think a very likely scenario is that Johnny Rockets’ exit may have come rather lately and the park was left to hurry up a solution for the space. Something other than a boarded up door or another attended game stall. And maybe there will be a chance for something nicer in a future season. I remember when Pirate Ride’s loading station held arcade games after that ride was removed but that building could still have a better use IMO.
I’ll admit that Fascination sits high on my wish list, but it’s a pipe dream at best. The game is old fashioned, it’s labor intensive, and equipment is worse than scarce. I visit the parlors at parks that still have one (not many) and in most cases it’s clear they’ve had to rig repairs for themselves. If I had a nickel for every hour I’ve ever spent playing. When I worked at the park it was a pastime for me and my roommate and we saved our tickets, “Good day-to-day, month-to-month, season-to-season…”. The best time to go is when the park is slow- it’s easier to hit with fewer players. We furnished our college apartment’s kitchen with what we won. A toaster, a plate and bowl set, a napkin holder, flat ware, and a covered pedestal cake plate that never had anything in it. All in that 70’s mod bright green, too. We were fancy thanks to Fascination.

I feel like I've mentioned this before, but if I was king, the Chick-fil-A location would become a Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant. The cross-branding would be great.

Alas, I am not king.

djDaemon:

Do we know that GP won't have burgers?

No, and like you I would guess that the full menu across all its locations, which we have not seen, would include some simple, basic "kid-friendly" options.

You know, the original Chicken Plantation in that building was that very thing. Well, not Mrs Knott’s, but real on-the-bone fried chicken. If anything it was Chicken Patio 2, pretty much the same menu, just on the other end of the park.
Every time someone mentions Mrs Knott’s I have an immediate desire for boysenberry pie, btw. So yummy.

We used to have Perkins here in the Phoenix area. They all closed over 10 years ago. There are many restaurants that we like to hit when we go back east but many are locations are closed permanently like Bob Evans and Perkins.

RCMAC:

On the subject of the JR’s removal, I wouldn’t necessarily get too attached to the notion that an arcade will be a permanent fixture in that empty spot. As I may have already pointed out somewhere, games of that sort are very portable. Walls and electricity can be easily moved. Something other than a boarded up door or another attended game stall. And maybe there will be a chance for something nicer in a future season.

And with arcade games being easily moved, I wonder if that's the plan for just the summer season? Then come fall, that spot is transformed into a new haunted house for Halloweekends. Possibly a new permanent venue goes in for 2024.

I agree that the menu we were shown is probably not finalized and complete, and that they may add some kid friendly dishes. Maybe I'm wrong, I don't think it's more likely that the pavilion serves burgers than the lakeside express which specifically had burgers as a selling point before it closed. ( I know there's still a good chance it won't even open this year)

also, "across all its locations"? Are they building more than one pavilion?

also also.. the roost served bone-in fried chicken and we can see where that went. Maybe they learned something from it and are up for trying again.

Getting closer to opening day, wonder if Tony's started work on something that ties all these food changes together yet.

"Across all its locations" was weird wording on my part. I just meant among all the different places/stations to get food within the pavilion.

I don't really have an opinion on the Perkins since we've never eaten there. Or at any Perkins for that matter. My brain makes a correlation with Denny's, which I would categorize as "fine for what it is". We do hit up the Fridays for take out when we're at Breakers now and then (or I'm making a run out to Thirsty Pony and back). The Tomo Hibachi was just "ok" for a Hibachi joint.

I must admit I'm also not the biggest fan of chains inside an amusement park. Outside the park (I would include the hotels in that box) is one thing, but there's something about running into a chain inside a park that just breaks the mood. Maybe I'm (momentarily) overthinking it, but I'm also currently working on something with regards to the psychology of amusement park experiences; the idea that our time inside the place is, quite literally, an escape from the outside world. And when part of the outside world meets us in that escape zone, it breaks the magic. It's like our brains say..."hey...what the hell are you doing here? I can see you a mile away from my home. You're not supposed to be here. And you're not supposed to cost that much."

RCMAC:

I think a very likely scenario is that Johnny Rockets’ exit may have come rather lately and the park was left to hurry up a solution for the space. Something other than a boarded up door or another attended game stall. And maybe there will be a chance for something nicer in a future season.

It makes sense that something changed rather recently, but I don't know that it would have been a surprise that JR is leaving, since according to Tony, the contract expired. Though it's possible they were trying to hammer out an extension and couldn't find agreeable terms. I'll be curious to see what they end up doing there, and whether that's accomplished by opening day.

Kevinj:
It's like our brains say..."hey...what the hell are you doing here? I can see you a mile away from my home.

This might explain why we don't mind Perkins at Breakers, since we don't have any in SE Michigan. So while the food there is... whelming, for us it is, if nothing else, different. If it were replaced by a regional-to-us chain, I imagine we'd also be on team "something other than a chain" instead of team "who cares we just need something for breakfast".

Though, if Berardi's opened there we wouldn't hate it.

djDaemon, why would you hate Berardi’s? Every time I’ve eaten there, the food has been great and the service is excellent. Although yes in their defense sometimes they do get busy if you hit it at the wrong timing, but that just goes to show, that local places can be a good experience.

Have another cup of coffee, and re-read my post. :-)

We wouldn't hate it, because Berardi's is awesome.

We haven't been there in recent years as we've been staying at Breakers most of the time, and loading up the kids and heading out can be a hassle, especially if we're trying to hit Early Entry. But years ago when we often stayed off-property it was a given to grab a delicious breakfast at Berardi's before heading to the peninsula.

My only concern would be whether or not they can scale their excellence to match the demand at Breakers, but I see they have a location in Cleveland as well, so who knows?

Berardi's is just ok. It has gone downhill a little bit the last couple years. Not sure they need a 3rd location in the area. For breakfast options, Port and Bay Bell are much better breakfast options. For lunch and dinner, I would also recommend Bay Bell, as they now have a brand new building, new owners, and new menu.

It always amazes me to hear what restaurants the tourists love, as most of us locals do not frequent the places tourists say are great, like Chet and Matt's, which is probably the WORST local pizza place in town.

NextGen89:

And has a seemingly low ceiling building, but then digs downwards and creates more headroom underneath, big basement.

Sure, in Rollercoaster Tycoon sandbox mode.

^ I need to try those two restaurants you listed. I have heard good things about Bay Bell. Never heard of Port though.

FWIW, Chet and Matt’s pizza truly is not good. However, I do love a good pizza and wing buffet. Do they still do it post COVID? If not, any places in Sandusky, Huron, Port Clinton area that does?

It’s wild to me how Johnny Rockets is at a lot of amusement parks, from Six Flags to Cedar Fair parks including Knotts (given it’s delicious in house food locations and integrity). Include me as someone who thinks the removal of chain restaurants would be welcome…that especially goes for Perkins. Yuck! I associate Perkins with late night, only place open after the bars, food, where you could get breakfast or dinner food. Ours used to be 24 hours. Poor quality, but we still ate it since our only choices were Perkins, Waffle House, or Sheetz.

Edit to say: My wife just reminded me that we have been to Port. I Google mapped it, and I have been trying to remember the name of that restaurant for a long time now. Their food is amazing!

It is above serviceable pizza, and they still do the buffet.

I went to Port Sandusky for the first time last year. The prices are cheap and the stuffed strawberry French toast I had was absolutely delicious, but what you don't pay in dollars you damn sure pay in time. The wait for your food is no joke.