Remember the following Sandusky businesses?

During your many trips to Cedar Point did you frequet the following businesses in Sandusky that are defunct?

Fanny Baer's restaurant
The Red Barn {later called the Farm}
Shell World
Bus-Z-Bee drive in
Sandusky Drive In theater
Hill's department store
Mr. Wigg's department store
Jupiter's departement store
Cedar Point gifts in the mall
The original Sandusky McDonald's
Burger Chef
Kenny Roger's Roasters

The Red Barn was a fast food chain that served some really good chicken along with the usual burgers and fries. The restaurants were usually built in building that looked like a large barn. Even though the chain is gone former customers can instantly recognize the unique structure and rememebr that a Red Barn was there. Sandusky's is now a Video Star.
Shell World had a lot of unique gifts. Was located in the original McDonald's building across from Cedar Lanes.
The original McDonald's was built in 1962 and was of the deign of the fanchise at that time with large golden arches piercing through the roof.
Cedar Point girfts was cool as you could buy Cedar Point stuff in the wintertime.

Remember any other businesses during your trips to Sandusky?

What is/was Cedar Point gifts in the mall?

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Steve Sergent
MF count: 229
One of the few who know about the other big d

As a local, I remember everything on that list. Many have fond memories. The Red Barn rocked. Went there all the time as a kid. Once I asked for a BBQ rib sandwich and got just that ... with the actual rib bone.

But since this is a Cedar Point board, I'll try keep this on topic: Cedar Point had a store at the outlet mall in Milan one off-season - maybe around 1990? Anyway, it was nice, but only last one Christmas season, I believe. They sold season passes and merchandise left over from the winter. They might have sold fudge and taffy too, but I'm a bit hazy on all the details.

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Virtual Midway
http://www.virtualmidway.com
*** This post was edited by Gemini 11/21/2002 9:16:25 PM ***

What about the store along Hwy 6 named Heck's? Anybody know the story there?

-'Playa

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The CPlaya 100--6 days, 9 parks, 47 coasters, 2037 miles and a winner.....LoCoSuMo.

It was a discount store, similiar to K-Mart, Ames, or Hills. And like Ames, Hills (and someday soon, K-Mart), they went out of business. That was back in the mid-80's.

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Virtual Midway
http://www.virtualmidway.com

I remember all those businesses also. Cedar Point Gifts was actually a chain that CP purchased, I think it was called Seven Seas. All of them turned into Cedar Point Gifts, there was one at the Richmond Mall on the east side of Cleveland.

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Florida may have Disneyworld and Key West,
but Ohio has Cedar Point and Put-In-Bay.
It's great to live in Ohio!

Hills becames Ames (yuck), thank god that Dead Barn (essentially an E-Choli factory with windows, ugly waitresses, a red tacky roof and doors) is in the sewer of really badly run resturaunts, burger chef rocks!!, anyone remember holzopals downtown?

>Sandusky Drive In theater<

Worked there for 25 years as a projectionist. Miss the place terribly! Best night I ever had there was the time we did a Cedar Point ESD event, and had 400 people to see the film "Basic Instinct". We had special "Cedar Point" employee nights two summers in a row. Thursday nights, open only to CP employees. Had contests & giveaways, good movies, good times.

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Tim Bretz
The Alamo. The Maine. Pearl Harbor. The Trades.

When did the Red Barn close? Do they still have other locations in operation?

I think it closed in the late 80's. I also think it was just one restaurant, not a chain.

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Virtual Midway
http://www.virtualmidway.com

Au contraire...it was indeed a chain at one time. They had all the trappings--goofy cartoon characters, television ads and of course an obligatory musical tagline:

"When the hungries hit, when the hungries hit--Hit the Red Barn!"

Hmmm. Hit the Red Barn. Were they asking to be robbed or inspiring customers to invent 'drive-thru' service the hard way?

It seems many people wanted to hit them after they were served a meal and soon they were no more.

- 'Playa

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The CPlaya 100--6 days, 9 parks, 47 coasters, 2037 miles and a winner.....LoCoSuMo.

I guess I wasn't well traveled in my youth :)

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Virtual Midway
http://www.virtualmidway.com

Playa, believe it or not, I actually still have a Red Barn "Magic Record". Sure it's scratched to hell, but it still plays, and is always good for a laugh. Side one featured three non Red Barn-related songs (including a nice Carousel tune called "Under The Double Eagle"), and side two featured the Hungries (Hamburger Hungry, Big Chicken Hungry, and Big Fish Hungry) singing their theme song and two variations of it. What made it a "Magic Record"? Well, you never really knew what song wouId come on when you started the record. There was only one start point and it changed depending on where the needle went. I wore that thing out when I was a kid! I always thought Red Barn's food was very good for fast food. The last one I ever ate at was in Streetsboro, Ohio after a day at Shady Lake Park. A Rally's now stands in its place.

Another Sandusky business I remember was Strickfaden's. I believe it was off of Perkins going west past the Veterans Homes. This was a pretty good-sized Christmas shop with loads of trees, ornaments, model trains, and other junk. My favorite memory of this store was the life-sized talking Santa Claus. He would ask questions to the people standing around like "What is your name?" and "Were you a good little boy or girl?" Some days, there would be nobody standing in front of Santa, yet he would still be chatting away. "What is your name?" (silence) "That's a nice name!". I guess I just amuse easily!

ray p.

I had a buddy that was a manager at a "Dead Barn" in Akron in 1981..the place if not the entire chain was dysentery waiting to happen. I still think YUCK when I think of a Dead Barn.

We had a Red Barn in Westland, Michigan as well.

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I'd rather die living than live like I'm dead

ProgRay said:
Playa, believe it or not, I actually still have a Red Barn Magic Record".

You absolutely must sample it from vinyl and encode into MP3 for posterity. Just think of the bucks you'd make from EBay....

-'Playa

(who thinks it's copyrighted by some corporation that no longer exists)

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The CPlaya 100--6 days, 9 parks, 47 coasters, 2037 miles and a winner.....LoCoSuMo.

*** This post was edited by CoastaPlaya 11/27/2002 12:26:56 AM ***