Food

The key focus of any restaurant chain is the food, itself.  The Hot Shoppes chain strove to serve generous plates of attractive home-cooked food at family-friendly prices.   

Beginning in 1927 with a simple nine-stool A&W Root Beer stand serving tamales and chili con carne, the Hot Shoppes chain branched out to eventually comprise seventy-three family-style restaurants by the mid-1960s. The number of items on the menu expanded to include down-home favorites such as meatloaf and mashed potatoes, country ham, hamburgers and fries, and fried chicken. Hot Shoppes also offered more "upscale" menu items, such as broiled tenderloins of beef aux tomate et Champignon, baked fillet of Red Snapper with lemon butter sauce, and pork chops a La Francaise.

The following images are of Hot Shoppes food items that were photographed by Charles Baptie and are part of the Charles Baptie photograph collection.