Background
Johnson was born on February 2, 1897, in Boston, Massachusetts.
Johnson was born on February 2, 1897, in Boston, Massachusetts.
Johnson didn't get proper education, and left elementary school to work in his father's cigar store and import business.
Johnson was a soldier in the American Expeditionary Force in France in World War I. His father died soon after Johnson returned to the United States and left him the business, which was heavily in debt. He continued to operate the establishment for three years, but sold it in 1924 after paying off the debts. He used the proceeds from the sale to purchase a run-down drugstore and soda fountain in Wollaston, Massachusetts (now part of Quincy). During his time in the cigar business, Johnson had concentrated on sales. He traveled throughout eastern Massachusetts delivering the products.
He turned the derelict store in Wollaston into a successful business, and he soon employed seventy-five boys to deliver and sell newspapers in the area. The lunch counter was also turned into a money-maker.
During summers, Johnson sold food and ice cream at the beaches at Wollaston and Nantasket. Johnson especially loved one particular kind of ice cream, and he eventually purchased the recipe for $300 from the German immigrant who had perfected it. Using the recipe he began to make ice cream and to sell it in his retail outlets. The ice cream was immediately successful in his store, and he became well known in the local community for the confection. The secret of the ice cream was the use of more butterfat and natural flavors. Soon his ice cream was in great demand throughout the year in the area of Boston where the store was located. Eventually Johnson created twenty-eight flavors, which he claimed would always be available in any Howard Johnson restaurant. He was well known for maintaining strict quality control in his establishments.
In 1928 a local restaurant owner who purchased his ice cream supply from Johnson's drugstore asked him if he could use the Howard Johnson name for his restaurant. Johnson negotiated a contract with the restaurant proprietor to become the exclusive supply agent for the restaurant's food. That year he grossed a quarter million dollars. The new restaurant was sheathed with clapboards and painted in distinctive colors, blue and orange. Soon, Johnson was selling franchises for his restaurants. The colors, the clapboards, and the cupola became landmarks for other Howard Johnson establishments. Selling plain, wholesome, simple food, the chain expanded rapidly in the eastern part of the United States. Johnson trained the managers of his restaurants himself. Amenities such as high chairs for infants were a feature of his establishments. Travelers who entered a Howard Johnson restaurant knew exactly what awaited them. As Americans began to use cars for extensive travel, they welcomed the familiarity of the chain.
The first Howard Johnson restaurant in New York was opened in New Rochelle in 1938. His restaurant at the New York City World's Fair in Flushing, Queens, gave his products good visibility, and by 1940, 140 Howard Johnson restaurants covered much of New England, New York, New Jersey, and Florida. Gasoline rationing and reduced travel during the war created a problem for businesses that depended on travel, but the Howard Johnson firm survived by manufacturing candy and confections for the armed services and catering in war production plants. The chain grew rapidly once the war was over, adding new restaurants at the rate of twenty-five per year for the next decade. The firm also developed motor hotels connected with the restaurants. The motor lodges also offered good service and cleanliness, and they were an immediate success. By 1965 the chain encompassed 770 restaurants and 265 motor lodges. The Howard Johnson company also developed a higher-priced network of restaurants and motor lodges called Red Coach Grills. Howard Johnson was able to obtain many exclusive locations for his restaurants on the growing network of limited-access highways that began to cross the country in the 1950's. By 1959, when the founder retired, the Howard Johnson firm was the third-largest distributor of food in the United States, exceeded only by the United States Army and the United States Navy. Johnson continued to be very active in the affairs of the company, acting as advance scout in determining new locations for franchises. He also continued to monitor his restaurants for cleanliness and proper food preparation, often showing up for an unannounced inspection. Johnson died on June 20, 1972, at the age of 75. He was buried in Milton Cemetery in Milton, Massachusetts.
Johnson's father insisted that all aspects of the retail and the wholesale business should be carried on without the need for paper or files, utilizing only the brain of the delivery agent. Howard Johnson continued this approach in his own enterprises. He never employed a secretary or a personal office staff, relying entirely on his memory and instincts to coordinate his work.
Johnson was married to Bernice Manley. Their son, Howard B. Johnson, became president and chief executive officer of the firm when his father retired.