When we received an email recently from one of our readers inquiring after a restaurant they remembered off of US Highway 98 North that featured an airplane for patrons to dine in — but couldn’t place the name of it — we knew exactly who to put on the case.
All it took was this small amount of information for our Facebook followers to sleuth out an answer: Foster’s Hollywood.
Founded by four Americans living overseas in Spain in the 1970s, Foster’s Hollywood offered classic American comfort foods ranging from TexMex to “burgers on the barbecue.” Around 1994-1995, the chain expanded into the US and opened seven locations across Florida, including one in Lakeland.
In addition to the airplane-themed area of the restaurant, readers also remembered a detective-themed area and other Hollywood-esque decorations reminiscent of a movie set.
The biz quickly changed strategies just one year after opening in Florida + closed all of its US restaurants by the end of 1996, but it continues to have a strong presence internationally in Spain and Portugal.
Do you have memories of Foster’s of Hollywood? Join the conversation.
