Howard Johnson's Landmark: January, 1971, page 1
 
Warwick, Rhode Island -- address
 

When the Warwick Red Coach Grill opened on January 5, 1971 it was the 26th in the chain of upscale eateries. The unit was built based on the Braintree Red Coach design, but with a few modifications. Purposefully designed inside and out, the restaurant was meant to "achieve a strong Red Coach identity."

Its decor was anchored by a huge fieldstone fireplace, and dining rooms featured oak-paneled walls with beamed ceilings. Walls were decorated with antique signs and pewter plates which were said to "create the intimate atmosphere of a Colonial Inn." Rounding out the luxury restaurant's interior were oak tables and red captains chairs in the dining rooms. Apparently never offering a Lightfoot's disco, Warwick did have a Tally Ho Lounge.

 
Postcard circa (detail)
 
 

 
 
Photographs August 29, 2004
 

The Warwick Red Coach was built adjacent to and part of the Warwick Howard Johnson's Motor Lodge and Restaurant complex. A highway location, it was the third directly off of I-95 in New England (Darien and West Haven, Conn. were the other two, and one might count Braintree too). The Howard Johnson Company intended to greatly expand the Red Coach chain, and had four more units either set to open in 1971 or were under construction.

Note that the Warwick Red Coach Grill building was still standing (2004), and that it was operating as a Bugaboo Creek Steakhouse.