Bickford had worked at the mundanely named Waldorf System restaurant chain in New England and was ready to start his own. In the decade after opening, the chain grew to more than two dozen locations in New York City and Boston.

Akin to Horn and Hardart's model, it aimed for busy working customers. The lunchrooms were initially self-serve with a limited menu. The goal was a quick turnover, while maintaining high quality and moderate cost.

Eventually the chain included more than 85 locations. During the 1930s most of the restaurant locations were designed by architect F. Russell Stuckert (whose father had designed Horn & Hardart restaurants).

Nor were they contained to the North East! Under different names (M\&M Cafeteria and Foster's Cafeteria) they spread to the South East and West Coast. They even opened up a specific breakfast themed Bickford's: Bickford's Pancake House.

Bickford's maintained its popularity for years, a 1960s guidebook noting that it gathered people from all different walks of life. It was no longer self-service, but still aimed at affordability.

But inevitably, changing fashions and increased competition challenged Bickford's whose father had designed Horn & Hardart restaurants. With 42 New York City locations in 1970 and only two in 1980, Bickford’s disappeared from the city entirely in 1982.