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Photo
ca. 1960s: Carl E. Fitchett, Jr. collection courtesy of Penne
Sandbeck |
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The
Daily Record [Dunn], 3-10-61:
Courtesy of Penne Sandbeck |
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Above:
The Motor Lodge was still under construction when the
Restaurant opened. Note that at press time the Gate
Lodge had not yet received its gleaming orange porcelain
enamel roof tiles! |
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Dunn,
North Carolina |
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513
Spring Branch Rd (I-95, Pope Rd exit 72) |
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The
entrepreneur and visionary Thomas Pearsall referred
to the route of Interstate 95 through North Carolina
as "a real pipeline of gold." He correctly
foresaw that the highway would become the primary conduit
of north-south traffic through his Tar Heel State, and
recognized the potential it represented for businessman
in the hospitality industry. Pearsall's vision had earlier
led him to become an oil distributor and an early Howard
Johnson's Motor Lodge operator. In fact, his Rocky
Mount HoJo's Motor Lodge was among the first in
the chain to have been opened. Thus in the early 1960s
as I-95 was being built, fellow oil distributors, the
Fitchetts, endeavored to enter the hospitality industry
in order to capture some of the highway gold that Pearsall
spoke of--and the Fitchett family naturally turned to
him for guidance.
The
wedge of property where Dunn's HoJo's was built was
initially purchased by the Fitchetts in 1956 with the
intention of having it serve as a truck stop. However
that plan never came to fruition, and Carl E. Fitchett,
Jr. whose wife's uncle had interest in both the Greensboro
and Danville
Howard Johnson's Restaurants teamed up with Mr. Pearsall
to develop the site into a showpiece Howard Johnson's
complex! Initially an all ground level 36 room Motor
Lodge, its opening was the talk of the town. No fewer
than 500 invited guests and dignitaries inspected the
ultra-modern facility in the summer of 1961 just as
it was readied for business. |
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Photo
March 1961: Carl E. Fitchett, Jr. collection courtesy of Penne
Sandbeck |
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Above:
Opening day for Dunn in 1961! On hand were from left to
right: Thomas Pearsall, Howard B. Johnson, Earl Maxwell
Starnes, Carl E. Fitchett, and Mr. O'Keeffe.
Below:
While
the Restaurant opened on March 7, 1961 with considerable
fanfare, the entire complex was not fully functional until
the summer. A number of contractor congratulatory advertisements
appeared in the local newspaper when the Howard Johnson's
was completed.
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The
Daily Record [Dunn], 7-11-61, p.4: courtesy of Penne Sandbeck |
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Photo
ca. 1961: Carl E. Fitchett, Jr. collection courtesy of Penne
Sandbeck |
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Postcard
ca. 1960s: Kummerlowe Archive |
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Postcard
ca. 1970s: Kummerlowe Archive |
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Above:
A late 1960s or early '70s addition to the Dunn restaurant
provided a larger "Lamplighter Room" space for
meetings and overflow dining.
Below:
Franchise Associates Incorporated (FAI) recognizing the
significance of its largest franchise operator, the Pearsall
Group, held a strategy meeting at the Dunn Restaurant to
discuss and plan for the chain's future (or we might say
demise). It was determined that a back-to-basics theme would
be adopted with focus on traditional HoJo's fare like clams,
franks, and ice cream. A further result of the gathering
was that franchisees would be required to spend in excess
of $560,000 to update their facilities or have their franchise
pulled--perhaps FAI was just a tad unrealistic to say the
least! |
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Reprinted
in FAI's UPDATE No. 3 from The Daily Record [Dunn]
11-25-86, p. 1: Courtesy of Larry Passaro |
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Above:
At Dunn in 1986 attending the FAI meeting were from left
to right: Bill Bennett (Dunn's manager), Patricia Baily
(Gold
Rock's manager), Lorraine Baily (Roanoke
Rapids manager), Al Hardy (consultant), Gerry O'Neill
(FAI), Barbara Leveroni (FAI), Jack Faucher (FAI), and Nancy
Copeland (Pearsall Operating Co.). |
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Photos
2002-2003: Courtesy of Phil Edwards |
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The
Restaurant was converted during the early 1990s into the
Brass
Lantern Steakhouse. Little of its exterior save for
the Nims inspired ranch style roof-line reminds the passing
motorist that it was once a Howard Johnson's Restaurant.
Lower:
An abbreviated section of modernist architect Edward Durell
Stone inspired decorative concrete block-wall remained
at the site.
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Photo
2003: Courtesy of Bob Venditti |
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