Restaurant nostalgia - in Anderson and a bit beyond

If anyone has not noticed, Noble Roman's returned to Anderson recently. A new store - yes, a real store - opened in the same strip mall on Scatterfield as Fedex/Kinko's. You cannot watch them toss the pizza and they still do not have a Sicilian or a monster pizza, but it has come back. For some reason that last sentence makes me feel very old. I will not explain for those too young, but at one time Noble Roman's was an Indiana success story. Perhaps, its return means something for Indiana?

Little Caesars has been back for a while. Anyone stopped at the intersection of 38th Street and Columbus Avenue certainly has seen the employees hawking the $5.00 pizza. No more two for the price of one and the pizzas do tend to the cardboard (which means, neither Art's nor Scampy's or Third Generation have a thing to worry about).

Then I see this column by John Ketzenberger in today's Indianapolis Star: Resurrecting a brand that once sizzled. The Big Shef might be making a comeback.

For a while longer fast-food hamburger lovers can get a Big Shef at a nearby Hardee's.

That will ring a bell with sentimentalists who remember the Indianapolis-based Burger Chef chain's signature sandwich.

Hardee's may not be driven by nostalgia. Bringing back the double-deck burger may be a shrewd move to block a potential competitor with plans to revive the brand.
Hardee's, which gained control of the Burger Chef trademarks in 1982 when General Foods combined the chains, rolled out the Big Shef in April. It showed up on menus at locations in Indianapolis, Terre Haute, Fort Wayne, South Bend and Dayton, Ohio, after a test in February produced "overwhelming" response, according to a company news release.

Interesting, even if the only Hardee's I can think of is in Elwood.