The Vintage Thanksgiving Restaurant Menu That Was Unbelievably Affordable

Despite many Thanksgiving dinners being made and eaten at home, some people opt to set aside their food preparation duties in favor of dining out. Restaurants have served Thanksgiving dinner for decades, and one classic restaurant in particular offered a hefty holiday meal at an incredible price.

A Howard Johnson's advertisement from the 1960s featured its Thanksgiving dinner. The incredible spread included a starter of chilled fruit cup with sherbet or fruit juice, followed by celery and olives, and cream of celery soup. Turkey, the default main course for Thanksgiving, was accompanied by a huge array of sides, including gravy and Cape Cod cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, glazed sweet potatoes, various vegetables, buttered rolls, and Waldorf salad. To finish, the restaurant served more sherbet, plum pudding, and pie. All of this cost $2.25, which today would be about $24.63 (assuming the ad was from 1960) due to inflation.

Today, prices certainly look different for restaurants serving Thanksgiving dinner in 2025. At Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar, depending on location, holiday meals start at $59.99, or around $5.48 in 1960. Buca di Beppo offers pick-up and dine-in holiday dinners on Thanksgiving Day for a family of three to four for $105 ($9.59 in 1960), which is between $26.25 and $35 per person — about $2.40 to $3.20 around the time period Howard Johnson's offered its elaborate dinner for a grand total of $2.25.

Howard Johnson's was the first giant chain restaurant in American history, with the original location opening in 1935. Howard Johnson's fleet of owned and franchised restaurants had expanded to over 1,000 units by 1979. The key to the brand's reasonable food prices and success was based not only on Johnson's strategy of dotting high-traffic roads with his restaurants, but also on the chain's innovative operations. It used centralized buying and a commissary system to prepare and distribute menu items across the nation, which lowered food production and distribution costs, and ensured a uniform consistency and quality.

Another part of Howard Johnson's success was due to the efforts of skilled chefs. From 1960 to 1970, Jacques Pépin was the director of research and new development at the restaurant, inventing many of its recipes. The notable offerings at Howard Johnson's likely reflected his vast repertoire of culinary knowledge, which is apparent in Jacques Pépin's all-time favorite foods. Should you decide to host your own Thanksgiving dinner in lieu of enjoying a restaurant experience this season, you can still enjoy a chef-style dinner by following some professional cooking advice. Check out Anthony Bourdain's Thanksgiving cook schedule to help you create a delicious holiday meal for your family and friends — it's probably less expensive than dining out, after all.