Remember when Noble Roman's was in Wesleyan Park Plaza?  We found one in Indiana where you can actually sit down to have dinner and it will take you back in time.

THE GOOD OLE' DAYS

I had all but given up hope that the good ole' days of sliding in a booth to have a Noble Roman's breadstick dipped in cheese sauce were gone until I made a recent discovery.  If you lived in Owensboro when Noble Romans was in the plaza you have fond memories of going to eat, watching old cartoons with no sound on the t.v. and playing music out of the jukebox.  It was so much fun and probably one of my favorite places to eat even as a teenager with all my friends.

Below is a map from Wesleyan Park Plaza.  Noble Romans was located just to the left of Niko's Bakery in what is now Ernesto's Mexican Restaurant.

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WHAT HAPPENED TO ALL THE NOBLE ROMANS?

I had absolutely no idea that Noble Romans originated in Bloomington, Indiana in the 1970s.

According to Wikipedia:

In the 1980s and 1990s, Noble Roman's expanded heavily outside of Indiana, opening new locations in Ohio, and other states.

In the 80s and 90s, they grew even bigger with over a thousand locations throughout the United States.  Then the bottom dropped out when franchise owners realized the business model sold to them was complicated and flawed and provided no support to thrive in the pizza industry.

Locations began shutting down in the early 2000s and now there are only around 10 locations open seven of those are corporately owned and three are franchised.   The company went to Noble Roman's Craft Pizza & Pub to focus on developing this idea.

Wikipedia noted;

By the end of 2020, almost all of the 1000-plus locations that operated at the chain's 2008 peak had closed. The company currently operates 7 corporate-owned locations and 3 franchised locations.

STAND-ALONE NOBLE ROMAN'S

Of course, we were super excited to discover the stand-alone restaurant located in Columbus, Indiana just minutes from where Noble Roman's actually originated from.

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The minute we walked inside it was like a time warp had zapped us back to the 90s and I felt all nostalgic.  This location is individually owned and it is amazing.

ANGEL WELSH
ANGEL WELSH
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Those lights and the booths everything about it screams my childhood.

ANGEL WELSH
ANGEL WELSH
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When I walked up to the counter to order the teenager working said "the only we don't have is the jukebox which we took out" my heart nearly fell out of my chest when he said that.  I quickly recovered once I tasted the pizza and wings.  WOW!  The food is even better than I remember and the service was fantastic.

Kentucky Restaurants and Bars Featured on National Television

Kentucky has been well-represented on a number of television series, and not just on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Check out the list:

Owensboro Restaurants We Miss the Most

These restaurants are no longer in Owensboro and we them BACK!

 

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