Sandy's Drive-in Iowa City was a third generation Sandy's as it had complete indoor restaurant services yet still retained the original walk up drive-in build-out. This was the last of the original buildings with the classic, now enclosed fins as well as the beautiful hard wood trademark beams. Preceeded by multiple "we can't keep it under our plaid beret much longer" ads in mid July, 1969, the Iowa City location opened on July 15th, 1969, the day before Apollo 11 took off for the moon and was franchiseed by John Staak who was a real estate broker in Davenport and who worked with Sandy's real estate man, "Doc" Boley, to develop many Sandy's locations in Iowa and Illinois.
Here is a congratulatory advertisement placed in the Quad City Times on June 3rd, 1962 on the same day that Sandy's on Harrison Street in Davenport, Iowa placed their "now open" advertisement. Mr. Staak had negotiated the location for Sandy's and it became the number one volume store in the Quad Cities Iowa/Illinois area, located in the heart of Davenport, Iowa!
UPDATE!!! 08/26/2006 ... Rich Kummerlowe, author of the outstanding website America's Landmark: Under The Orange Roof has found the only known existing picture of Iowa City Sandy's!!! This picture is from a clipping from the Iowa City Press Citizen newspaper and was printed July 16th, 1969, a day after the location opened!
After negotiating many sites for Sandy's and seeing their success time and time again, Mr. Staak took the plunge to become a franchisee himself. He chose Iowa City because he had attended the University of Iowa and played football there in 1941 & 1942. Mr. Staak died suddenly only a year after opening the Sandy's, and Lee Staak, his son, took over the operation.
Lee Staak was involved with the corporation (later with Hardees) for over three decades! His Sandy's was known for its extraordinary service and quickly caught on with the local University of Iowa students. Iowa City has long been known as a progressive city and Sandy's fit right in as if it had been there since the 1960's.
Sandy's ran this ad on their first anniversary in 1970. Iowa City Sandy's gave away a 14 foot boat with trailer and 7 h.p. outboard motor, 5 transistor radios and free Dr. Pepper with any sandwich and fries purchase! Sandy's classic fire truck arrived with free rides for the kiddies as well as free baloons all in celebration of Iowa City's patronage to their very own Sandy's!
Sandy's was famous for their incredible marketing which included various give-away promotions. One of the best was the Pass, Dribble and Shoot Contest for kids between the ages of six and thirteen. Sandy's in Iowa City presented this ad announcing registration for a chance to win a trip to the NBA All Star Game! Four boys and Four girls would be attending this game after winning local, district, regional and national contests. A peek behind the basketball pole reveals a late 1960's Sandy's sign. A full picture of this type of sign can be found on the Geneseo, Illinois page.
Special gratitude to Mr. Staak who was kind enough to provide an overwhelming amount of information, promotional material and memorabilia for this site to preserve the memory of Sandy's. He also provided the complete list of Sandy's from the switchover to Hardees on April, 20th 1973. This information is invaluable, again thank you so much Mr. Staak.
While in negotiations with Sandy's to open the Iowa City restaurant, Sandy's would provide information regarding what was necessary to start the location. When the location opened, more information including support in the form of advertisement slicks, etc., were provided as well. Here are copies of three incredible slicks for billboard advertising supporting Mr. Staak's Iowa City Sandy's! These rare billboard ad slicks are hand drawn and the artwork on them is incredible to look at in person!
Sandy's classic icon that everyone remembers is the Scottish lass who is dancing. This is an absolute classic early 1970's Miss Sandy's. This model was not Miss Sandy herself, however, various Miss Sandys would appear at special occasions such as Sandy's grand openings and even ran for president in 1968!
Sandy's building was part of the Sandy's experience. During the daytime, the hardwood beams and triple ceiling fins would becon the call for one to stop by and taste the incredible Sandy's burgers, fish, tenderloins, shakes and fries. Many considered Sandy's french fries to be the best of any restaurant!
At night, Sandy's changed dramatically. The entire drive-in lit up in a blaze of neon glory! The neon glow was not all that was mesmerizing, the Sandy's classic sign was lighting up the night, drawing the hungry mobile public into its parking lot! Sandy herself was on top of the sign (as seen in this picture.. she is blurry because she is moving!), spinning around while blinker lights were flashing on the word "Sandy's". HAMBURGERS 15¢ adorned the giant triangle midsection. Later, as in this late 1960's, early 1970's picture, the sign changed from 15¢ to thrift n swift!
This is an actual envelope that the Staak family received while in negotiations with Sandy's. Note the Sandy's stationery as well!
Under discussion was terms of agreement as well as various issues such as supplies and promotional material. Sandy's theme was fun and every holiday opportunity was touched upon to bring excitement and great deals to the locations!
Sandy's had an ongoing training program to make sure that each location maximized the success of the chain!
Here is a peek at various stations inside of Sandy's. Note the picture of the multi-mixers for the milk shakes, one of the very items which launched and revolutionized the fast food industry!
In this incredible photo, The inside seating area is shown. Notice the slant of the front windows, the hardwood ceiling, one of the six wooden beams holding up the ceiling fins, the classic late 1960's - early 1970's lighting and the ash trays on the table! If one scrolls up and views the night-time Sandy's picture above and compares what is seen on the inside to this, you start to receive a Sandy's classic dining experience! All that is missing is a Hi-Lo and a bag of fries!
Sandy's was one of the greatest drive-ins. Great quality food, great thrift and swift service and an incredible experience all the way around! Sandy's in Iowa City lived up to these expectations. When Sandy's in Iowa City converted to Hardee's in early 1973, it was celebrated as the 1st Hardee's west of the Mississippi! Sadly, the original Sandy's building was torn down and rebuilt a few years ago, however, Mr. Staak's location survives as a Hardees to this day, now owned by the University of Iowa, some three and one-half decades after its grand opening!
If you have any memorabilia, pictures or stories of Sandy's in Iowa City, Iowa or elsewhere, please email me!
