Encyclopedia Dubuque
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
QUONSET DRIVE-IN
QUONSET DRIVE-IN. The 1951 and 1955 Dubuque City Directory listed 3380 Central. The manager was Ray Dolter. Dolter had returned to his hometown after operating a grocery store in Milwaukee in the mid-1940s. He chose the location because of the traffic from the battery factory, railroad yard, MELODY MILL and the JOHN DEERE DUBUQUE WORKS.
The building was actually a Quonset hut converted into a restaurant with inside and outside service. Dolter made his own hamburgers, hand-dipped onion rings, coleslaw, root beer, doughnuts and hand-packed ice cream with fresh strawberries and peaches. His marketing included being one of the few drive-ins in Dubuque with car-hops on roller skates.
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Source:
Day, Mike. "The Golden Age of Drive-Ins," Telegraph Herald, June 24, 2012