Long-Time Union Road Restaurant Has Closed

It has stood at the site of the former Aero Drive-In on Union Road since the mid 1970's, but on Sunday the Holiday Showcase Restaurant closed its doors for the final time.  I think I'd be hard-pressed to find someone who had never been to the Holiday Showcase Restaurant.  For my generation it was pretty much standard procedure to enjoy a movie at the Holiday Showcase Theatres, then have a sandwich or a snack at the Holiday Showcase Restaurant.

Of all the meals I ever had at the Holiday Showcase there was one thing that always popped into my mind.  They had a killer strawberry shortcake that was hard to resist.

The restaurant was heavily damaged and several nearby homes destroyed by a tornado in 1987.  It was more than a year before repairs could be completed.

The Aero Drive-In was closed in 1971 after serving movie fans for more than 20 years.  In its place rose the Holiday One and Two Theatres where I saw so many '70's era classics like Star Wars, The Godfather, E-T, Jaws, The Excorcist, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and so many more.

I remember hosting a number of movie sneak previews including what I think was my first one in 1977 at the Holiday Showcase - Smokey and the Bandit.  With all the movies and those standard stops at the Holiday Showcase Restaurant afterwards, that equates to a lot of strawberry shortcake.