From the September 3, 1968 issue of the Windsor Star, is this ad from Hi-Ho restaurants.
Hi-Ho was a local chain of drive-in burger joints, that was founded in 1937. A letter was sent by the owner to Walt Disney asking permission to use “Hi-Ho”. A letter was sent back telling him to go ahead, no problem. Try that today! 🙂
I’m sure some of the readers out there have some stories of the place to share, so seeing as this was before my time, and long before I was ever in Windsor, I’d love to hear any stories….
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I remember riding my horse through the drive thru at the Hi Ho on Sandwich. This would have been early early 80's......80-81 ish....
I recall going to the HI HO on Sandwich St. back in 1972 when my husband and I were dating. It seems to me they had a delicious Strawberry Pie...or was that at the Big Boy? The place was a real "hot spot" on Firday nights back in the 60's and 70's. Those were the days!
David, I think that the Hi-Ho would have come up short and would have been dwarfed by McDonalds :)
The one on Howard Ave is still there it is the Ivy Rose.
Had the pleasure of eating at all four locations as a youngster. Our family of four would usually make an evening of it in the car, starting with a drive, then a meal before the drive back home. My favourite was the Walker Road spot, as we would load up with hot dogs, fries and milkshakes then proceed to park beside the Windsor Flying Club and watch aircraft activity. That lead to a keen interest in aviation that remains to this day. I also remember the Sandwich location, with its billboards by the parking lot that displayed the seven little people and their muse. That would have been in the 1960-67 era, before A&W arrived on Central Avenue with their Teen, Mama, Papa and Baby Burgers and the large cold glass mugs of root beer. At both Hi Ho and A&W, you had to roll down the window beside the driver's seat so that the tray bearing the bounty of greasy treats could be attached to the car. Ahhh, that smell of fried white starch still sets off the saliva glands.
Right on T, you're makin' me hungry for a healthy helpin' of beef fried in lard, or some damn shit.
We were afraid to go to the west end in high school ' cause of the rough crowd that was supposed to frequent the joint.
Black greasy hair,rolled up shirts sleeve smokin'Player's Navy cut,with a mickey of whiskey under the seat, and two hot numbers in the back of a '57 chev, lotsa chrome, 'n noise, 'n Del Shannon blarin' from the Big 8.
The grandson (and front man of Windsor alternative rock band "King Kool Flipped") of Hi-Ho founder Amie Fortin set out to make a documentary about this historic Windsor chain when another filmmaker came along and made a documentary about the guy making the documentary - The Rise and Fall of the Grumpy Burger!
For info check http://grumpyburger.com/
It airs on TVO November 19, 2008 at 10:00 PM.
If you go to the Maple Leaf Restaurant on Tecumseh E. and order the Maple Leaf burger you are getting the grumpy. Their gravy is the same as the Hi Ho and you can pretty well get everything as the Hi Ho. They had to change the name of the Grumpy because the HiHo had a patent.
The Maple Leaf Burger is very good and does remind me of the "Grumpy Burger".
I do miss the HI HO, many fond memories.
The Howard location is where the Ivy Rose Restaurant stands today