Posted on 04/07/2006 10:25:24 AM PDT by Smogger
GONE FLAT: After 46 years, Ontario's A&W Drive-In, the only location in Southern California with carhop service, is closing April 30. Owners Larry and Sherrill Roan are retiring after devoting more than half their lives to the restaurant at 1267 W. Holt Blvd. With sales down, and corporate interest waning, the root beer specialists can no longer stay afloat.
Photo Gallery: A&W Drive-In closing
So much for "Happy Days.''
"We sold the property,'' Larry told me from behind the counter when I stopped by to ask about the rumored closing.
"It won't be a restaurant,'' he added. "It'll probably be a used-car lot.''
Gosh, just what Holt needs!
Oh well. You can't begrudge the Roans for wanting to sell.
"We worked seven days a week, both my wife and I together, every day,'' said Larry, a dryly efficient presence behind the counter. "Now you know why I've got burnout. It's time to hang it up.''
Despite being part of a chain, this A&W was virtually a hometown place. In its 46 years, the Ontario franchise has had just two operators.
The location -- near another landmark, Vince's Spaghetti, west of Mountain Avenue -- opened in 1960 under Keith and Eleanora Hunter. They sold on Nov. 1, 1971 to the Roans, who have been there ever since.
Larry's life has been drive-ins. His parents owned the Tastee-Freez on Pomona's Mission Boulevard during the 1960s. He worked there, too, before buying the A&W. It was struggling, but through hard work, he and his wife built it up.
One boost came from the monthly Cruise Night, which began in 1979 and continues today. Hot rodders bring their cars into the parking lot to show them off over burgers and root beer floats.
In the 1980s, cars would even park along Holt because the parking lot would be full.
"We used to pack 'em in here,'' Larry said. "Everybody's got cruises now.''
Their final Cruise Night is April 21.
The really unique offering has been there since the beginning: carhop service.
Motorists pull up under the canopy and place an order through a speaker system. Food is brought out on a tray, if you're eating there, or in a sack, if you want it to go.
The Roans' daughter, Teresa, who worked there in the mid-1980s, used to wear roller skates. Employees don't wear skates anymore.
"Now we've got workmen's comp to worry about,'' Larry said.
The setup is still unusual enough to draw attention. A retro-style date on TV's "The Bachelor'' involved a carhop dinner at A&W after a movie at Montclair's Mission Drive-In. The restaurant was a film location for the 1987 comedy "Body Slam'' with Dirk Benedict and Tanya Roberts.
The strangest incident over the years?
"We had a streaker,'' Larry said. "He ran from one end of the parking lot to the other, totally nude. That was '71 or '72.''
Ahhh, the 1970s.
After peaking in the 1980s, business has slowed. Holt, once the main drag, doesn't see as much traffic anymore.
"We get a lot of first-timers here who say, ‘I never knew you were here,' '' Larry said with a shake of his head.
They may get more first-timers after this column. And they should -- the food's darn good.
"We made everything fresh. We never cooked ahead,'' Larry said.
A customer came to the counter with his glass mug for a root beer refill. Root beer is on tap, like real beer. Larry put the mug under the spigot and pulled the beer-style lever, which is adorned with the A&W logo.
Founded in Lodi as a root beer stand, A&W formally began in 1922, combining the initials of Roy Allen -- no relation, unfortunately -- and Frank Wright. According to a corporate history, A&W was the first franchised restaurant chain, and it boomed after World War II as society became more mobile.
The name is now owned by Yum Brands, which is pairing A&Ws with KFCs, such as the one in a sleek building at Foothill and Mountain in Upland.
The Ontario drive-in, the last such A&W in Southern California, is an anachronism.
"It's pretty much the end of an era for drive-ins,'' Larry said.
Is that a tear staining my cheek, or just some foam from a frosty root beer?
David Allen writes Sunday, Wednesday and Friday, an era that refuses to end. E-mail d_allen@dailybulletin.com, call (909) 483-9339 or write 2041 E. Fourth St., Ontario 91764.
My aunt worked there in the 70's. It was her first job.
Nothing beats an A & W root beer float.
Do they not have Sonic Drive-ins in California?
Yes, but they are drive throughs. No carhop service like in the South and Midwest.
There was one in Illinois I remember being completely intrigued by as a child. My family went there perhaps only a couple times before it closed, but I thought it was the coolest thing.
There are now other restaurants that are succeeding with the same carhop service (Sonic, etc.). But nothing will replace the fascination and excitement I had from that old A & W.
It hard to know something like that is there unless you happen to drive past it. From what I hear, Sonic does pretty well, but they also spend money on advertising.
Damn!
A Saturday night ritual after the stock car races was a burger basket and a Root Beer Float at Johnson's A&W (this is back in Minnesota).
I signed up for the Marines there when a recruiter took me there for lunch and bought me a cheeseburger/fries basket with float, of course.
There's still one in Greenville, Ohio. Great coney dogs and A&W!
Our small city has three drive-in restaurants. One is an A&W Root Beer.
Interesting. Just went to a Sonic in Houston that had car hops.
I can hear the conversation now - "You had me at the fries."
There was an A&W just down the road from my High School In Biloxi MS. I used to drive there for lunch, it was small, but what a memory.... Nothing better than their Root Beer in a "frosty mug".
The bonus offer was pretty good too.. (which I never saw a dime of) lol
"There was an A&W just down the road from my High School In Biloxi MS. I used to drive there for lunch, it was small, but what a memory.... Nothing better than their Root Beer in a "frosty mug"."
Well we still have a drive in theater in nearby Montclair (ironically a short drive from the A&W) with FOUR screens that shows NEW movies and has DOUBLE features.
With the price of real-estate out here it won't last long.
NOTHING!!!! Okay, maybe some things... but not very many!
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