The Retrologist by Rolando Pujol

Rolando Pujol, who runs the Instagram account @rolandopujol, shares captivating stories about retro travel, along with tips for planning your trips and much more!

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By jove! Arthur Treacher's opens new store, returning to a former location it built in 1971

1 week ago | rolandopujol.substack.com | Rolando Pujol

Arthur Treacher’s, the fish-and-chips chain that once numbered over 800 locations, is staging a comeback. The chain named after an actor who played Jeeves the Butler is now at your service at a new, third standalone location. This new location is the site of an original Arthur Treacher’s that opened for business the week of Feb. 15, 1971.
1966 Taco Bell, a rare 'mission' building, to close in Scottsdale as historic status is denied to another classic in Santa Barbara

2 weeks ago | rolandopujol.substack.com | Rolando Pujol

It’s the Taco Bell of your vintage dreams, and at age 59, it appears to be the oldest franchise of the Mexican food chain that is still operating out of its original mission-style building. It opened just under four years after the chain was founded by Glen Bell, the “Bell” in Taco Bell. This historic Taco Bell, at 821 N. Milpas St. in Santa Barbara, California, failed to gain “historic status” last month.
Big news! My book, 'The Great American Retro Road Trip,' is available for preorder

3 weeks ago | rolandopujol.substack.com | Rolando Pujol

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! The Retrologist has written a book!I’m so excited to announce that you can preorder my first book “The Great American Retro Road Trip” right now! You can buy it wherever you get your books.
'The Great American Retro Road Trip' by Rolando Pujol is available for pre-order, hits stores June 24

3 weeks ago | rolandopujol.substack.com | Rolando Pujol

Check out the official press release for my book! Celebrate the nostalgic pleasures of America's vintage signs, quirky roadside attractions, and offbeat fast-food relics with journalist, “The Retrologist” Rolando Pujol in “The Great American Retro Road Trip” “[A] love note to the unique charms of the American landscape.” —Dylan Thuras, co-founder of Atlas Obscura “[A] joyful reminder that America is so wonderfully weird and quirky, charming and strange, bizarre and magical.” —Margaret...
A 1947 Dairy Queen's unsettled future; Neon Park's rescue mission; status check on Taco Bell's Numero Uno; a 'peach' of a roadside relic

4 weeks ago | rolandopujol.substack.com | Rolando Pujol

There’s a Dairy Queen that is like none other, and its future is suddenly unsettled. Dating to 1947, the DQ is Roseville, Minnesota, is a curiosity, a tall, glass jewel box on a cream concrete base with slanted windows, topped by a blue-trimmed roof and the architectural cherry on top — the classic 1950s-era Dairy Queen neon sign. Betraying my East Coast roots, this Dairy Queen is like an old-school Carvel stand on steroids.
Last batch at 1950s Boston donut shop; last call at Wyoming's smallest bar; last gasps for 2 beach motels; hat's all for Arby's sign; cry for help from beloved chili shop

1 month ago | rolandopujol.substack.com | Rolando Pujol

The Boston area has a defensible position as the American sweet spot in the story of the donut. Dunkin Donuts and Mister Donuts are the two most famous examples of familiar brands that would launch hereabouts and spread far from the Commonwealth. Still, there are other spots, the smaller ones, the local joints that have long injected the region with a carb-friendly strain of its culinary character.
McAtlas: A photographer's global odyssey to document McDonald's in over 50 countries

2 months ago | rolandopujol.substack.com | Rolando Pujol

I suspect it’s been years since you’ve needed a travel atlas, thanks to the ruthless efficiency of smartphones and GPS. Satellites and cell towers collude to make it a snap to get around, but we do lose a certain sense of adventure and charm that used to come with wrestling with an atlas while on the road.
Slicing into culinary history and pop culture on National Pizza Day

2 months ago | rolandopujol.substack.com | Rolando Pujol

My Pizza Hut Classic piece is the most popular post I’ve ever published on the Retrologist Substack. Although my list of dozens of restaurant locations has been up for over two years, I still receive hundreds of visitors daily to that single post. Why? Well, it’s elementary that Americans love Pizza Hut and, more broadly, pizza, regardless of its point of origin. But the obsession with Pizza Hut, in particular, is about more than culinary affection.
Bar fight over famous sign; 'Evil Clown' orphaned; Hellmann's commercial revisits 'Harry Met Sally' fake orgasm scene at Katz's Deli; Punxsutawney Phil's turf | Retrologist Roadside Roundup

2 months ago | rolandopujol.substack.com | Rolando Pujol

The saga of the Subway Inn has taken another remarkable twist. I recently shared the news that the Manhattan bar closed in December after a short-lived stint at its third location in its almost 90-year history. The bar began life across from Bloomingdale’s on East 60th Street in the late 1930s. When it was forced out of its longtime home in 2014, the bar moved to East 60th Street near the Queensboro Bridge.
The LA fires and the 'erasure of heritage'; Wendy's says G'day; beloved diner imperiled; the 'Fat Boy sings'; Catskills history up in smoke | Retrologist Roadside Roundup

2 months ago | rolandopujol.substack.com | Rolando Pujol

Before we get down to business, I have exciting news: My new (and first) book, The Great American Retro Road Trip, is now available for preorder! The book takes you on a coast-to-coast journey in search of roadside Americana. While the book hits stores June 24, the best way to support it right now is to preorder it at the online bookstore of your choice. Here are links to Bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and direct from the publisher, Artisan.