Today, at the Howard Johnson Restaurant in Bangor, Maine, regulars hugged their favorite waitresses and closed out their tabs for the very last time. The restaurant was closing up for good, leaving the "HoJo" in Lake George, New York the only one left in the entire country. 

It was a quiet end for a company that, at its peak, operated 800 restaurants around the United States. So what went wrong? 

Harvard Business School historian Nancy Koehn said the brand's commitment to consistency was key to its success—and also, ultimately, its demise.

She explained that Howard Johnson—who founded the eponymous chain in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1925—was a pioneer in the world of franchising, where a network of 'franchisees' can buy into a successful brand and operate their own branches.

"This is the first systematic franchising enterprise in the United States," Koehn said.

Johnson had other important insights as well: he realized that the country's new highways would draw families onto the roads, and so strategically placed his kid-friendly, affordable restaurants in places they'd be likely to stop. 

"He had an important insight on branding: orange roof, blue letters, consistent experience and set of very value-priced items in a recognizable package," Koehn explained.

But then, the game changed. Faced with competition from other wildly successful fast-casual restaurants and the changing diets and lifestyles of the American consumer, HoJo didn't look for ways to bring in new customers—it dug in its heels.

"They started cost-cutting instead of investing," Koehn said, cutting back the number of ice cream flavors or even reducing the length of the straws instead of trying new things.

"[Johnson] didn't ever see that the game changing meant he had to do something different," Koehn said.

To hear more from Nancy Koehn, tune in to Boston Public Radio above.