Dog 'N Suds Ad – March 2, 1968

It's still a little too early for Dog ’N Suds up on North Ridge Road to be open (especially with the return of winter weather). But back in 1968, the drive-in was already open and running ads in the Lorain Journal, such as the tall one shown above that ran in the paper on March 2, 1968 – 50 years ago today.

Dog ’N Suds has been one of my favorite topics here on the blog since I started writing it back in 2009.  

Back on this 2014 post, I pointed out how the timeline of the drive-in has been inconsistent through the years in its own ads. So last week I re-examined old Lorain, Elyria and Lorain County directories more thoroughly to determine once and for all when the place first opened.

I think that I’ve done that – finally.

I feel doggone confident now that the drive-in first opened under its original ownership in late 1963, when it was robbed on October 16 (which I wrote about here). The drive-in’s 2050 North Ridge Road address did not have a listing in the 1963 Lorain City Directory nor the 1963 Dickman Criss-Cross Directory (which covers Lorain County).

The drive-in first appeared in the Lorain City Directory in the 1964 book. And I even found a Dog ’N Suds classified ad looking to hire a ‘Day Car Hop' in the April 25, 1964 ChronicleTelegram.

But in the 1965 edition, the address was listed as vacant. That dovetails nicely with the accepted fact that the drive-in closed under its original ownership and sat vacant for a while.

Then the drive-in re-opened as Eckstein’s Dog ’N Suds, with a Grand Opening ad appearing in the Lorain Journal on July 1, 1966.

The restaurant also appeared under that name in the 1966 Lorain City Directory.

Anyway, Dog ’N Suds was still closed up when I drove by there last weekend. Here’s hoping that Ilene and the gang will reopen it soon and continue serving up more good food and nostalgia at Ohio’s only Dog ’n Suds.

I can just taste that Texas Burger now.