ABOVE: For 70 years, hungry travelers and locals alike have enjoyed coney dogs, root beer, Texas Burgers and Boilermakers at the Dog n Suds in Lafayette, Indiana.
Originally published in the July-August 2026 Lincoln and Continental Comments magazine (Issue # 391)
By Jeff Shively
Photos courtesy of the author.
For those of us living in northern climes, winter is often a bleak and unforgiving season. Don’t get me wrong, I love a white Christmas, but by Dec. 26, I am quite keen on skipping to late March. But spring does eventually arrive, which means just one thing- time to get the old cars out of the garage!
It is all well and good to get the cars out, but here in Indiana we need to wait a little while until the rain washes the salt off the roads. For me, there is just one thing I want to do on that first warm, sunny day: head to a drive-in restaurant.
Settling in Kokomo, Indiana, has a number of benefits for me, a four-car attached garage being a big one. Just as importantly, I am an hour’s drive from a bevy of drive-in restaurants, several of which are located in Kokomo.
One of my long-time favorites in the area is the Dog n Suds Drive-In on the old U.S. 52 bypass in Lafayette, Indiana. It has been in continuous operation since 1956. I discovered it in 1993 while attending the Hot Summer Nights car show north of Lafayette in my 1965 Cadillac. The Dog n Suds chain went through a revival in the mid-1990s, but it sadly faded. This venerable edifice hasn’t faded as it celebrates its 70th anniversary in July.
I try to make opening and closing day each season, usually around Feb. 25 and Halloween, respectively. This year, the weather was a little dicey on opening day, but the day broke bright on the 27th. As a wonderful side effect of the dismal opening day, the rain washed the remaining salt from the roadways. The trip takes less than an hour on two-lane roads almost all the way. The trees weren’t budding as of yet, but it was still a very pleasant drive.
The menu at Dog n Suds is standard drive-in fare, and has remained little changed for at least 33 of its 70 years. As the name implies, the chain started as a hot dog/root beer stand. The coney sauce is excellent, but I usually stick with my favorites, the Texas Burger or the Boilermaker. At one time, each Dog n Suds would have a specialty item, like the Boilermaker, that was a local favorite. This double-patty burger with special sauce (think Big Mac, only better) is named after Purdue University’s mascot, the Boilermaker. I ordered my sandwich at the flip of a switch, and before long, a car hop arrived with a tray full of goodness to mount to the window, the only proper way to dine! The drive back to Kokomo was utterly relaxing, as the oldies wafted from the Bluetooth speaker.
For most of March and April, my cruises kept me in or near Kokomo. On Mother’s Day, I decided to venture a little north to Peru and Mr. Weenie, a local favorite since 1964. Peru is a half-hour drive from home and is a neat town. Legendary composer Cole Porter hailed from here, and several circuses wintered in Peru a century ago. For its part, Mr. Weenie offers wonderful Chicago-style dogs, but I am a burger guy. One of the many things I love about these mom-and-pop places is that the prices are relatively cheap compared to the chains, and the taste is much better. I prefer cole slaw to fries any day of the week, and most of these places offer it by the cup. It’s not exactly health food, but every little bit helps. Had I been so inclined, I could have stopped at the B&K Root Beer stand on the way out of town for a coney dog chaser, but I thought better of it…this time.
The next day, I was driving to my local muffler shop when I smelled gasoline. The fuel pump had started weeping gasoline, so it was back home. Off the pump went to one of our advertisers for a rebuild. The three-port pump is a bit of a different animal than the fuel pump on my ’65 Cadillac, which I can still pick up at my local Napa for a very reasonable price. There was a bit of a time lag getting the Lincoln’s pump back, but I plan to be at the Homecoming in August with the ’63 also sporting fresh BF Goodrich Silvertowns. I hope to see you there!
ABOVE: Peru, Indiana, landmark on State Road 19 since 1964, the grinning Mr. Weenie has enticed diners to pop in for a bite. Remember, it’s always “Mr. Weenie Time!”