When will Jack in the Box bring back “Frings”? One of my fondest memories of the late 70’s/80’s was going to the doctor. Well, not the doctor so much, but after each doctor visit, we’d go to the Jack in the Box and pick up some Frings. It was a little fry pouch with two separate compartments – one would have fries and the other would have rings. Enough starchy breaded oily goodness to pick me up after a hernia exam….or whatever it was I was ailing with. (More than likely strep throat or an ear infection). Above is a slightly older order box, but I think the one there did have a newer 80’s style box. They also didn’t have indoor seating, it was all outdoor with a walk up window. (In Houston? That was nuts!)
The corner where the Jack in the Box used to stand has a lot of great memories for me. It’s kind of surprising that the little ratty strip center and long, LONG abandoned gas station are still there. I think we had our car serviced there once or twice. Our old house was only about two or three miles away.
The Jack in the Box was originally located where AutoZone and Pizza Hut now stand. There was also a drive through Fotomat Booth in the corner.
* The alley behind the strip center and the laundromat is where I rode a three-wheeler for the first (and last time). I accidentally popped a wheelie and my buddy was like, “How did you do that?”
* The strip center had a liquor store, we dug around in the dumpsters behind it (like rats) and pulled a nice cache of Crown Royal cloth bags. I used those bags for years, even earning a Mike Peck stern, “WHERE DID YOU GET THAT?!” under the assumption that I had been drinking Crown Royal….in high school….yeah, so no, I told my dumpster story.
* The strip center had a U-Tote-Em, which in my junior high circles were well known for having a better candy selection than other convenience stores – namely 7-11 at the time. I don’t recall any other c-stores around.
* The gas station that hasn’t been used since the mid-90’s if I recall. That gas station is where I can still remember the smell of leaded gasoline. Crazy. There was one time a guy was trying to get his Baja Bug started and asked if me and my friend could help push it. We tried, and it still didn’t run. We had pushed it into the liquor store parking lot, and for our help he let us pick some cassette tapes from his cassette tape rack. My friend picked one, then saw another one and said, “Aw, I should have gotten that one!” As sheltered as I was, I didn’t know what to pick so I chose the one that my friend wanted after all – it ended up being J Geils album Freeze Frame – which had the classics Centerfold and Freeze Frame.
* My friend from above ended up working at the Autozone in the late 90’s/2000’s and I ran into him in shock buying an in-car air filter for my Honda. Hadn’t seen the guy in years.
* That Jack in the Box location is where my buddy and I were hanging out when we saw the area’s homeless dude attack the bank with a long pole. We were briefly interviewed by police regarding what we saw – the suspicion was that he did it to get a night in jail and free food. Westbury Square is right down the street. It’s seen better days. A lot of memories there too.
