Situated along Route 28 in Salem was Rockingham Park, a large horse racing track and facility that continually drew in visitors for all over New England. Further north and just off from Route 28 was Canobie Lake Park, a local amusement park that likewise attracted tourists to the Salem area. As a direct result of these two entities, traffic flow along Route 28 was steady and often times fierce, especially in the summer as well as when the horse races were in session. Roadside business exploded almost overnight, and by the early 1960s, the Route 28 corridor was a hot bed of activity for motorists, offering them a wide selection of restaurants, shopping plazas, gas stations, and countless shops and stores. With sustained economic growth and development, the climate seemed just right for an HJ franchise.
 

The Salem restaurant was constructed as a classic Nims Two, with a Nims Two type cupola and a trapezoid sign featuring Simple Simon and the Pieman. Its builder was an impetus behind the dramatic business expansion taking place on Route 28, having already developed and amassed numerous roadside properties along the stretch. Salem appears to have been a viable operation for its first several years, due predominantly to its excellent location. Ultimately though, the store began to struggle as a result of unrelenting competition from other nearby restaurants and establishments. The HJ franchise simply could not hold on in this saturated market. The last known directory listing for Salem was 1971. Thus, Salem can be paired with West Thornton as one of the shortest-lived HJs in New Hampshire, at just about 9 years.

Immediately after HJ left, the Lancer Steak House moved in. However, its tenure was short, and by 1972, it had become Bob Loo’s, Salem’s first Chinese restaurant. In typical fashion, the top portion of the store’s cupola was removed. Likewise, the orange tile roof was replaced with a standard asphalt roof, and the trapezoid sign was taken down. Aside from these surface changes though, Salem retained most of its visual lines and remained largely recognizable as a former HJ. Bob Loo’s continued a successful operation here until late 1998, when the owners decided to retire and close the business for good. Repurchased again in 1999, the building was substantially modified and renovated, and in early 2000, it re-opened as Polari’s of Salem, an Italian-American eatery. Alas, it is virtually unidentifiable as an HJ today.