Having
been neutered by the Marriott Corporation following its
purchase of the Howard Johnson's empire in 1985, the Claymont,
Delaware outlet was converted into a Bob's Big Boy. But
by the end of the 1990s Marriott changed course and exited
food service, leaving its franchised and corporately owned
locations high and dry. Harry Bissell, in the early 1990s,
who was a long-time HoJo's franchisee stepped in and resurrected
Claymont as a Howard Johnson's!
Located
just off of I-95 at the first exit south of the Pennsylvania
state line, the Claymont stand-alone Restaurant opened in
1969. An excellent location, it was built adjacent to a
bustling commercial roadside strip that included a large
parcel of land for possible Motor Lodge construction. The
land was eventually developed with a Home Depot and several
out-parcel establishments, but no Motor Lodge was ever built.