Wag's facts for kids
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| Industry | Casual dining & Pancake house |
|---|---|
| Fate | Closed |
| Founded | 1970s |
| Defunct | 1991 |
| Headquarters | Deerfield, Illinois, United States |
| Parent | Walgreens (through 1988) Marriott Corp. (1988–1991) |
Wag's was a popular chain of casual dining restaurants. These were also known as "family restaurants." They were owned and run by Walgreens during the 1970s and 1980s. Wag's was similar to other well-known restaurant chains like Denny's and Shoney's. They often stayed open 24 hours a day. Wag's was known for serving affordable meals such as hamburgers and breakfast foods.
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The Start of Wag's Restaurants
Wag's began as smaller restaurants inside some of the larger Walgreens stores. These small eateries were quite successful. Because of this success, Walgreens decided to open separate, standalone Wag's restaurants. This allowed more people to enjoy their food.
Changes in Ownership
In 1988, Walgreens made a big decision. They sold most of their Wag's restaurants to a company called Marriott Corporation. Marriott bought 91 of the standalone Wag's locations. Walgreens kept only a few Wag's restaurants that were located inside shopping malls.
Wag's Closes Down
After Marriott bought Wag's, they started selling off many of their business properties. They even sold places like Marriott's Great America, which was a theme park. Marriott tried to find buyers for most of the Wag's restaurants. However, they were not able to sell many of them. Because of this, the Wag's restaurant chain completely closed down by 1991.
What Happened to Some Wag's?
Even though most Wag's closed, about 30 locations in the Chicago area had a different story. These restaurants were sold to Lunan Corporation. Lunan Corporation was a large company that owned many Arby's restaurants in Chicago. For about two years, these 30 restaurants continued to operate as Wag's.
Becoming Shoney's and IHOP
After a couple of years, Lunan Corporation changed these Wag's restaurants. They turned them into Shoney's restaurants. However, Lunan Family Restaurants went out of business in 1994. The Shoney's locations they owned were then sold to different restaurant chains or individual owners. Today, some of these former Wag's and Shoney's locations are now IHOP restaurants.
