Drive-ins, from Tiner's to Todd's, were the draw on Omaha's Dodge Street
Carhops, cruising and cheese frenchees.
They contributed to the history of the heyday of drive-in restaurants in Omaha, when kids got the thrill of eating in the family station wagon, ordering through speakerphones and having their hamburgers and fries brought on a tray clipped to a window.
When high schoolers would gather after games for a malt.
When hot-rodders would make a circuit from Toady's in South Omaha, to Tiner's in midtown to Todd's by Peony Park, back to Caniglia's Royal Boy on North 30th Street and into Council Bluffs for Ewald's on the west end.
Predating the drive-ins were establishments offering curb service. Horn honks and headlight blinks were how to summon attention.
Among the earliest with curb service were the Peony Inn at 77th and Dodge Streets, the Sunset Tea Room on the northwest corner of 49th and Dodge, the Bud Husker Inn at 30th and Leavenworth, the Lighthouse at Florence Boulevard and Ames Avenue and the Aristo at 3310 California St.
Hosman's Circus Drive Inn and Merry-Go-Round opened in 1940 at 3109 Farnam St., across from the south end of Turner Park. A round building had eat-in dining and a second-floor carousel. It served food around the clock.
On one sign: "Eat Lunch Here Tomorrow. Quick Service. Tasty Food. Low Prices. In Your Car As You Are — With Sweetheart — Wife or Husband."
The city had A&W Root Beer stations since the 1930s. The one at 4405 Dodge had a barrel-shaped building out front advertising the beverage as ice cold for 5 cents.
The first one to become a drive-in might have been at 16th and Binney Streets in 1941. It was the first in Omaha to advertise for carhops. It wanted only women 21 or older or married.
In the 1953 city directory, the drive-ins listed in the restaurant classification were Barnes at 3001 Leavenworth St., Benson at 5402 Military Ave., Drickey's at 1510 Saddle Creek Road, Haar's at 2924 Dodge (it was around from 1942 to 1963), Igloo at 5902 Center St., Martin's at 6906 Maple St., Massey's at 5010 Center, Ogden's at 4120 S. 24th, Preema with two locations at 3109 Farnam St. and 3002 N. 16th St. (the former A&W) and Tiner's, 4409 Dodge St.
Charles and Kenneth Shada modernized drive-in ordering, good-bye horns and headlight flashing, when the brothers from Fremont spent $85,000 on a drive-in on the southeast corner of Cuming Street and Saddle Creek Road in 1955.
Shada's had 66 stalls with sound devices like those at drive-in theaters. These were two-way, with ordering food done at the push of a button. Backlit menus and trays were on stands, speeding up service by the car hops.
Tiner's bought it in 1960 as its fourth restaurant and second drive-in. Its first location, and most well-known, was at 44th and Dodge Streets. Night club owner Einer Abramson opened it with Fred "Tiny" Barnes — obviously the name's inspiration — in 1950.
Eight years later, Steve Urosevich bought the closed Wishbone Restaurant at 7720 Dodge for his Todd's Drive-In. And a cruising loop was born.
Toady's, at 24th and F Streets, was one of the A&W drive-ins. Owned by Ray Cutchall, it was the top seller of the root beer in the chain in 1961 with 60,000 gallons purchased. His was one of the A&W's that introduced Kentucky Fried Chicken to the area in 1965.
Toady's eventually became a T.J. Mug's in 1985 and closed in 1988.
Ray's brother, Bob, moved his A&W from Saddle Creek to Fontenelle Boulevard and Ames Avenue in 1962. It was a fixture across from Fontenelle Park until 1989.
Other A&Ws included Jack's at 5120 Center in the 1960s and one in Millard Plaza in the 1970s.
Anthony Oddo, one of the first five boys to live at Boys Town, had Oddo's at 2410 S. 13th from 1957 until an arsonist triggered an explosion and fire in November 1969.
Max Marshall started his drive-in at 30th and Fort Streets in 1949. Four years later he sold tit to Yano Canglia — Mr. C — who renamed it Caniglia's Drive-In, serving the famous "Royal Boy" steakburger.
By 1970 the conversion from drive-in to Mr. C's Steakhouse was complete.
The first of King's Fine Foods in Omaha, opening in 1962, was on 72nd Street across from the new Crossroads Shopping Center.
King's was started in 1955 in Lincoln's Bethany neighborhood by Larry Price, basketball coach at nearby Nebraska Wesleyan, and Jim King.
Price gave Nebraska cuisine the cheese frenchee in 1968. King's also was known for its onion rings, chocolate shakes and the telephone at every booth inside for ordering.
Omaha's drive-in locations for King's included 29th and Farnam Streets, 52nd and Leavenworth Streets, 72nd and L Streets, 60th Street and Ames Avenue, 37th and Center Streets, 84th Street and West Center Road and 90th and Maple Streets.
There was a short-lived King's, at the time the state's only Black-owned restaurant, at 30th and Ames Avenue from 1969 to 1971.
King's high-water mark, before Price sold half of the company in 1972 and bankruptcy proceedings followed three years later, was 100 company-owned and 36 franchised restaurants across the western U.S.
Now to get the drive-in food experience, it's Sonic with seven locations. One is across Saddle Creek Road from where Shada's was.
And who brought the national chain here in 2001, the first location at 90th and Maple Streets? The late Greg Cutchall, whose father was Ray and uncle was Bob. The drive-in gene was strong.
A side note: While McDonald's and locally-owned Bronco's had "Drive-In" in their names, they were walk-in, self-service establishments. That's the reason they are not more deeply explored here.
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