Thursday, July 29, 2010

The 5 and 50 Drive-In, Tipton, Missouri

All roads lead to the 5 and 50—most notably, Highways 5 and 50. And if you look at these two roads, you might indeed realize that the 5 and 50 could very easily be on your itinerary, if you don’t watch it.




Tipton's 5 and 50 Drive-In, named for its position at the intersection of the two highways, is one of those wonderful, unique little businesses you can find in small towns all over the place, but rarely on the interstates, dominated by boring chain restaurants and their mind-numbing sameness.

I said it’s unique, because it is, but it’s also like plenty of other little drive-ins that offer soft-serve ice cream creations, chili dogs, fried snacks, and sodas, sold from behind a sliding window in a little hut with a big sign on top. There are picnic tables, in case you don’t want to eat in your car.




And each of these places is different, and each is beloved by the surrounding community, as well as by tourist regulars, truckers, bikers, who have learned to stop there as they travel from point A to B.

Similar places: Zesto, the Pied Piper, Vargo’s (Norwalk, Ohio), and the sadly defunct Polar Freeze (Mesquite, Nevada).

The last time we were at the 5 and 50, the guy behind the window said that the business had been there for at least fifty years. (I suspect that some of my readers can tell me precisely how far back the 5 and 50 really goes.)

Here is one of the menu boards.




This is the real thing, folks. If you drive up to this restaurant in anything younger than a 1959 Ford Galaxie 500, you will feel like a visitor from the future, a spaceman.




Now I’m going to support my sweeping generalization at the top of this post: All roads lead to the 5 and 50!

Missouri Route 5 traverses the entire state, north to south. It’s the only Missouri state highway to extend all the way across the state, as a matter of fact. Highway 5 extends into three states. Across the border in Iowa, it turns into Iowa Highway 5 and leads clear to Des Moines!

In Missouri, it connects such important places as Marceline (boyhood home of Walt Disney), historic Boonville, the Lake of the Ozarks (Missouri’s own vacationland), Camdenton (home of Bridal Cave), Lebanon (the Aluminum Fishing Boat Capital of the World), and Mansfield (where Laura Ingalls Wilder lived for about sixty years; she wrote “some books” there).




South of Missouri, the highway enters Arkansas, where it becomes Arkansas Highway 5 and leads to the charming Ozark city of Mountain Home (Bluegrass Central—you really have to go there), then down to Calico Rock (perched prettily on the White River), through part of the Ozark National Forest, through Mountain View (which is different from Mountain Home) and Heber Springs, Rosebud, and Romance, clear to the north fringes of the Little Rock metro area.

Des Moines to Little Rock: So it should go without saying that Iowa/Missouri/Arkansas 5 connects with scads of U.S. Highways, as well as some major Interstates (40, 44, 70, and 35).

Okay, then the other line of the “plus sign” centered in Tipton, U.S. 50, stretches more than three thousand miles from Ocean City, Maryland, to Sacramento, California; before they replaced its westernmost stretch with new concrete spaghetti, it used to stretch clear to San Francisco. It goes through twelve states—clear across the continent.




And when you consider that Missouri is, ohhh, roughly centered in the lower 48, you can see that, given the extent of the two highways aiming right at Tipton, it wouldn’t take too many turns to get to a road that will intersect Route 5 or Highway 50, and from there, you got it: It’s a straight shot to the 5 and 50.




The 5 and 50 is closer than you think.


5 & 50 Drive-In on Urbanspoon

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

You can even class it up from cheeseburger to a shrimp basket :D

Julianna Schroeder said...

Hey! Last time we were there (just a few weeks ago!) I "classed it up" to a couple of corn dogs! (I couldn't remember the last time I had a corn dog, so I figured it was time to enjoy one again.) So delicious. Wonder who invented the idea? I like mine with yellow mustard....

Unknown said...

Thank you for your interesting blog regarding 5&50 Drive-in in Tipton, MO.

My family owned and operated 5&50 Drive-in for over 50 years. We sold 5&50 Drive-in on February 1, 2014!

5&50 was opened in 1954 by Russell & Lena Brenton, who sold it to David & Rita Brant in 1960. My parents, Arnold & Winnie Dueber became partners of Dave & Rita in 1964, and when Dave went into the insurance business my parent's purchased the remaining interest in 5&50! I took over operation of 5&50 in 1978 after my father suffered a heart attack, and ran it until it was sold to Trevor Higgins on Feb. 1, 2014. Trevor is getting ready to open for his second season on March 2, 2015! We all wish him well, and hope that people will continue to support this great small town business!

Rod Dueber

Julianna Schroeder said...

Wow, thank you, Mr. Dueber, for sharing the history of the 5&50! It is a real treasure, and I salute you for keeping it going, and keeping it "real," for so many years.

Here's to Trevor, and best wishes for many more years of delicious treats!

Thanks again,
Julie

Anonymous said...

I would like to know how long this business has been there because I'm 64 year's old and as a child growing up my father would stop in there and get us 4 kid's an ice cream cone each weekend on our way from Columbia, MO to our cabin down at the Lake of the Ozarks. So, I was so happy to see that it was still in business when my husband and I stopped by on our way to my father's grave site today in Akinsville, MO, just up the road a ways.
Their service, food and ice cream are still as great as I remembered it as a child. Brought back some fond memories for me.
Loved it!!!!

Julianna Schroeder said...

Thanks for your comment. I really appreciate it that you shared your memories. I don't know much about the history of the 5 and 50, but certainly it's been around for a while.

I'm glad you got to go there again.

Best regards,
Julie

Anonymous said...

I thought my great Uncle Gene Friedrich and his wife first owned the place I don’t remember the year.