Suds drive-in returning for business in Greenwood
Update: The Suds posted an update to its Facebook page saying the reopening date is April 22, 2023.
Let the 50s and 60s rock play.
After sitting out a year, a dining and car cruising institution will resume operation in Greenwood.
The Suds drive-in restaurant, under new management, is reopening April 22, with weekday hours, lunch specials and the ability to order online.
The downtown Greenwood spot is known for its root beer floats, tenderloin and hand-dipped shakes; and as a place for nostalgia, serving as a gathering spot for classic car owners to show off their rides on Saturday evenings.
“It’s the memories," said Susan Wagner, who has taken over operation from her father, owner John Wagner. "They've been coming for years and years and years and it's the memories of coming here with their parents. People have come here on their first date and come back for their anniversary.”
The Suds hours
The shop at 350 Market Plaza will operate be from noon to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday and noon to 10 p.m. Saturday.
In recent years, it had been open only on Saturdays.
Wagner, a full-time math and science teacher who has worked at the restaurant for the last six years, chalked up last year’s closure to staffing issues.
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“We've got tons of staffing this year. I think we're coming out of that COVID craziness and people are ready to work again,” she said.
Most of this year's 13 workers are adults, a contrast to the teen-heavy teams on which the restaurant has typically relied upon, Wagner said.
“It doesn't usually happen. But now that we're open throughout the week it can be more than just a few hours work on a Saturday,” she said.
What's on The Suds' menu?
The Suds will add lunch specials during the week. Look for taco salads and sliders. Pizzas — 12-, 14- and 16-inch pies — are also added to the menu, a creation of manager/cook Dell Sefton.
And a new online ordering system will help folks bypass long lines and grab their food at the pickup window at an allotted time.
“So they can be sitting in the car, order their food and then it gives them a time and then they come up and they just pick it up from the window,” Wagner said. “It’s going to make things run a lot smoother; a lot faster.”
Menu prices are up slightly, she said, to cope with higher food costs, but Wagner said her customers will likely happily adjust to see the restaurant resume business.
“I know that the people that come there enjoy the atmosphere. They enjoy the food. So, hopefully, they won't blink an eye at prices going up," she said. "We didn't raise them too much, but we had to get them up or we can't pay for the food.”
History of the Greenwood drive-in restaurant
The restaurant opened as a franchise of Dog ‘N Suds in 1957. It became independent and renamed The Suds in 1983 and has gone through several ownership changes and temporary closures.
Folks have shown through donations of effort and money they want to keep it around.
Community members donated money to help the restaurant get by while it was shuttered in 2022, and about eight neighbors answered Wagner's call for volunteers to help get the property ready during a workday in March.
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"In years past, we've had people say, “If you ever need anything, let us know,'” she said, “I took them up on the help offer because it would have taken us weeks to do what it took us a day to do with that help.”
Owner John Wagner will still be there on occasion, greeting guests and checking out the classic cars that pull in. And he’ll smoke ribs a couple of times during the season, typically when live bands are playing, his daughter said.
“He’ll come in and hang out and enjoy the cars and talk to people,” she said.
The Suds' 2023 season, which already includes several live band performances and a car show, will run through Oct. 14.
Contact IndyStar reporter Cheryl V. Jackson at cheryl.jackson@indystar.com or 317-444-6264. Follow her on Twitter: @cherylvjackson.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: The Suds Greenwood drive-in is coming back with new hours
