Drive-in restaurants roll into Northern Nevada.
Drive-in, drive-through, curbside pickup — common terms as restaurants have struggled to meet the demands associated with coronavirus. But it was the 1940s and ’50s when drive-in dining first blasted onto the local food scene.
It was bound to happen. Following World War II, the interstate highway system and suburban development began. Americans took to the road, creating the motel life, drive-in movies — and, soon, drive-in restaurants.
Drive-ins Pop Up
National chains hadn’t appeared yet, leaving room for local entrepreneurship. Imagine Downtown Reno at 349 N. Sierra St. (across from the Eldorado Resort Casino). Beginning in 1946, this was the location of Gabe’s Drive-In, with 24-hour food service. Early ads promoted that it offered barbecued meats and complete fountain service, and, somewhat strangely, that it was “the only 100 percent electrical restaurant in Nevada.”
Gabe’s, like many drive-ins to follow, was a bit of a hybrid. While providing American Graffiti-like car service, it also offered indoor dining and a full, somewhat surprising menu that featured, among other items, a half lobster. A Reno Evening Gazette classified ad from June 30, 1947, also confirmed its employment of a drive-in icon: “Applications now being taken at Gabe’s for waitresses, carhops, and fountain help.”
On May 21, 1949, Gabe’s was refashioned as “Reno’s finest drive-in.” Called Lee’s Drive-In, it had a dining room, lunch counter, and curb service. An ad on June 12 showed a drawing of a carhop with a tray, providing the first visual proof of this mid-century symbol. Another iconic feature — food trays attached to car doors — also was verified in February 1949 when a boy was arrested as he tried to drive away from Lee’s without paying. The tray and tableware still were attached! Maybe the long hours and high visibility of drive-ins attracted trouble, since Lee’s was vulnerable to a string of burglaries, robberies, lawsuits, and underage slot-machine violations. By March 1959, owner Hudson Lee closed the restaurant, saying “changing times have made it too rough.”
Other Reno eateries appeared, such as Modell’s Drive-In at South Virginia Street and Airport Road (Plumb Lane) in 1945. On May 7, 1948, owners Phillip and Wayne Matley opened Wayne’s Drive-In “way out South Virginia Road,” according to the ads, with inside service, car service by carhops, and an unofficial designation as “the home of the double hamburger.”
By Feb. 16, 1951, the seventh Wayne’s location opened at 595 E. Second St. (formerly V&W Drive-In). And many fondly remember the Dairy Queen at 560 N. Virginia St., opening June 14, 1949, with the slogan, “an old fashion [sic] freeze — served in a new fashion way.”
The Trend Grows
Ray’s Drive-In was an important addition to the restaurant scene. Like Lee’s, the drive-in concept of “curb service” at Ray’s was offered along with indoor seating resembling a traditional restaurant. Ray’s, operated by John N. Pedersen and Ray Saake, began at 2207 S. Virginia St. in Reno and advertised on Aug. 4, 1947 in the Reno Evening Gazette, “10,000 people needed (12 customers at a time). Service in your car.”
In 1948, Ray’s closed in Reno and opened at 2225 B St. in Sparks as an impressive, almost swanky restaurant. Starting in August 1950, it offered live music in its Redwood Room. Club meetings and parties frequently were held in Ray’s Gay-Nor Room, including prestigious gatherings for groups such as the Sparks Chamber, with Nevada U.S. Sen. George W. Malone as speaker in 1951. By 1956, Ray’s closed, as the area was redeveloped.
Meanwhile, Sparks was seeing increased action among drive-ins. Doug’s A&W Drive In opened in two locations in the 1950s, on Prater Way and Oddie Boulevard. For Valentine’s Day 1964, it offered a coupon for “2 banana splits, his and hers, regularly 2 for 85¢ but special 2 for 50¢.” The Prater Way location was vacant in 1980 when Mike and Sally Richards refashioned it as Scoopers Drive-In. For Mike, who grew up in the ’50s, the drive-in captured his love of its music, cars, and food. The original menu consisted of hamburgers and sandwiches, but what made it special were its 15 flavors of milkshakes.
Drive-in fans could also enjoy another Prater Way establishment, the Frostop Root Beer Drive-In. It touted fast car service and “double day Wednesday and Thursday — 2-for-1 banana splits for 45¢.”
If you traveled an hour east of Sparks, you couldn’t miss Bob’s Root Beer. With its landmark huge striped mug posted outside, it was a Fallon institution for 46 years. First built in 1960, it featured carhops and was known for great burgers, hoagies, barbecue sandwiches, and, of course, root beer. Tuesdays, it was packed for 29-cent hamburger night. In the perfect mid-century combo, many families would stop at Bob’s before heading out to the drive-in movie theater.
Pieces of the past remain elusive, and no amount of research can change that. No proof of carhops on roller skates ever surfaced. In the meantime, though, diners can skate between the great milkshake choices at Scoopers. Mango or Oreo white chocolate, anyone?
Sharon Honig-Bear was the long-time restaurant writer for the Reno Gazette-Journal. She relishes Reno history and is a tour leader with Historic Reno Preservation Society. You can reach her with comments and story suggestions at Sharonbear@sbcglobal.net.
