Horne’s

History of Horne’s Motor Lodge and Restaurants

The Beginning

Horne’s was a Southern-style restaurant chain primarily found in the Southeastern United States, strategically located along major highways. Headquartered in Bayard, Florida, the chain once boasted over 60 locations, though only one original restaurant remains. Many Horne’s locations combined diner-style sit-down service with additional amenities such as lodging, Texaco gas stations, gift shops, and ice cream bars, offering a convenient one-stop-shop experience. Given their highway locations, many Horne’s restaurants operated 24/7 to accommodate travelers.

In the early 1930s, Bob Horne and his family operated “Horne’s Beauty Rest Cabins,” a motel near Jacksonville, Florida. At the age of 22, Horne began working at Stuckey’s in Eastman, Georgia, where he made his own candy for the restaurant. Inspired by his experience, he established his own restaurant and candy shop. On October 4, 1948, he opened his first store near the Beauty Rest Cabins.

Horne’s initial concept was to position his stores along major highways, offering travelers candies, nuts, and souvenirs. His father, Alton Irving Horne, joined the venture as the company’s secretary. By 1950, “Horne’s Enterprises” embarked on a $2 million expansion after selling 235,000 shares of common stock. This growth included adding 25-seat counter grills to many locations, later known as “Circus Grills” due to their circus-themed decor.

Horne’s offered a diverse menu, including signature items like the “Circus Burger,” a hamburger topped with coleslaw, and their popular fried chicken. Other favorites included charbroiled hamburgers, steaks, home-baked pecan pies, and all-day breakfast options. The chain was also known for its sweets, offering pecan rolls, pralines, and a selection of forty-two varieties of kettle-fresh candies and chocolates.

Bob Horne introduced additional amenities as the chain grew to attract highway travelers. Many locations added motels, creating the “Horne’s Motor Lodge and Restaurant” concept. On May 7, 1953, the company was officially incorporated in Florida as “Horne’s of Bayard, Inc.”

Expansion and Success

By 1956, just eight years after its founding, the chain had expanded to 17 locations across eight states. To draw in customers, Horne began painting the roofs of his restaurants bright yellow and erecting tall signs visible from highways. By 1963, over 1,250 signs had been installed along roadways to advertise the chain.

Horne’s entrepreneurial success made him a millionaire by the age of 30. The chain had grown to 44 locations that same year, primarily along the Eastern Seaboard. Sales soared to $9.2 million in 1963, up from $5.7 million the previous year.

Purchased by the Greyhound Corp.

In 1964, The Greyhound Corporation acquired nearly all the stock of Horne’s from founder Bob Horne for $14 million. Harold L. Lumpkins, who controlled much of Horne’s stock, stated, “This is primarily to enable Horne’s to expand at a more rapid rate. Greyhound has all the money they need and are looking for diversification, and we are looking for expansion.” Horne’s operated 55 restaurants across 15 states at the time of the sale. Following the acquisition, John W. Teets was appointed president of the enterprise.

After selling his company, Bob Horne and his wife, Penny, went on to develop Powder Horn Mountain, a privately owned, gated residential community on 1,250 wooded acres in Watauga County, North Carolina. Greyhound placed Horne’s under its Greyhound Food Management, Inc. subsidiary. By 1965, Horne’s had grown to 60 restaurants and six motor lodges. That same year, Horne’s and Greyhound’s other restaurant subsidiary, Post House Restaurants, were serving a combined 275 million meals annually.

Sold to Formco, Stand N’ Snack Parent Company

However, Greyhound’s ownership of Horne’s was short-lived. On April 30, 1969, the company sold Horne’s to Formco, the parent company of the Stand N’ Snack restaurant chain. At the time of the sale, Horne’s had 19 franchised motor lodges. Following the acquisition, Horne’s headquarters was relocated to Topeka, Kansas, though it continued to operate independently from Stand N’ Snack.

In 1967, the original Horne’s Beauty Rest Cabin closed but was later repurposed as the Bayard Antique Village, which remains in operation today. During the late 1960s, Horne’s expanded into Canada, opening three branches.

The End of the Horne’s Chain

By the late 1970s, the profitability of highway travel began to decline for Horne’s, leading to a downturn in business. On April 29, 1980, Key Energy Enterprises acquired six Horne’s locations in Florida. In 1981, Atlantic National Bank took control of “Horne’s International Inc.,” effectively marking the end of the Horne’s chain. The final company-owned restaurant closed its doors in 1982. By 1986, the trademark for “Horne’s Motor Lodge Restaurant” had expired.

Florida Souvenir Land

Around 1983, the Horne’s Restaurant in Lawtey, Florida, was purchased by Gene Eunice and renamed Florida Souvenir Land. It retained the look of an old Horne’s and sold some of the same stock: Minnetonka moccasins, seashells, Florida T-shirts, magnets, pecan logs, and orange blossom honey. Off to the side, though, was a pen surrounded by three fences with a 15-foot alligator named Abe Lincoln contained within. It was first advertised as 11 feet, but Eunice changed it to 15 feet, admitting that he wasn’t even sure how long the gator was.

Souvenir Land was mentioned in passing in a 2011 Ocala Publications article by Sandra Friend. It reads, “Blink, and you’re in the 1960s. It’s a former Horne’s turned roadside stand, recalling a misty past of orange-scented perfume balls, pecan logs and wind chimes made of strings of tiny sea shells. Blink again. It’s real.

For more than 25 years, Florida Souvenir Land has been a landmark along this stretch of highway north of Lawtey, where a steady string of places like this tempted tourists coming down from the Georgia border, what with the “Rest Rooms Inside” sign, bags of fresh pecans and miniature license plates with your kids’ names on them.

The gal running the shop, who demurred to give her name, pulled out a photo of Florida Reptile Land and compared her memories with mine.

“It had a zoo in the back, and you’d walk around a great big circle and come out through the juice bar where you gave donations if you wanted to donate,” she says. When she recalled the piano playing chicken, I just had to laugh.

“They had a little square cage, right here by the side where you went into the zoo,” she recalled. “Drop a quarter in, and the chicken would peck out a tune on a miniature piano.”

Status of the Company

As of April 2024, the company operates a single location in Port Royal, Virginia. This Horne’s restaurant, built in 1960, retains nearly all its original design and features, including the equipment used to make milkshakes. It is the last authentic Horne’s restaurant and has become a popular tourist destination, particularly for travelers and families stationed at Fort Walker.

In Florence, South Carolina, a former Horne’s restaurant bearing the name but unaffiliated with the original chain remained open until 2013. No Horne’s Motor Lodges remain in operation today; the last one, located in Ocala, Florida, was demolished in early December 2014. A car dealer and collector currently owns the former location in Lawtey. The ones showcased there are for sale.

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