Santa at Dog 'N Suds – Dec. 1968

I'll close out the week here on the blog with a post about one of my favorite restaurants: Dog 'N Suds. It's been three months since it closed for the 2025 season, and I'm betting a lot of people besides me miss it. But it'll open up around April and then all will be right with the world. 

Back in 1968, however, Dog 'N Suds didn't close at the end of summer – it stayed open. So it's only natural that when it got close to Christmas, Santa Claus would stop by the drive-in for a visit. 

Above is the ad from the Saturday, December 20, 1968 Journal announcing the arrival of the jolly old elf the very next day. I wonder what the gift was that Santa had for the kiddies? I'm guessing it was the coloring book that was handed out the previous summer.

Anyway, the Santa ad doesn't exactly mention any food – so I got to wondering if it really was open and serving food. Sure enough, an ad appeared in the Journal on January 23rd, 1969, with a roast beef sandwich special.

Anyway, it's nice knowing that when winter's over, Dog 'N Suds will be back for what I believe will be a big anniversary year. The Grand Opening under the current ownership was back on July 1, 1966 so a 60th Birthday Celebration would certainly be in order.