FOOD
WAYNE’S DRIVE INN
BY TIM FARLEY
LAWTON - First dates and marriage proposals at Wayne’s Drive Inn is part of the folklore that has been passed down from one generation to another during the last 71 years. Wayne’s Drive Inn is more than hamburgers, onion rings and large Coke. It’s a Lawton institution that almost everyone in the city knows about. It’s a hangout and part of the drag strip where teenagers cruised on Friday nights starting in 1950. It’s also been a venue to show off some of the fastest and best looking hot rods in town. “There’s a lot of stories about things that have happened here,” said Joe Abshere, owner of Wayne’s Drive Inn, 6810 NW Cache Road. Abshere is the grandson of Wayne’s founder Wayne Abshere. Joe Abshere and his father opened the Cache Road location in 2006 after Joe decided he wanted to 70 ion Oklahoma MAY/JUNE 2021
be involved in the family business. “It’s been good for us and the community,” Joe Abshere said. “The community takes care of us and we try to take of them when we can.” During the past few years, Wayne’s Drive Inn has expanded its menu while still providing quality customer service “with a smile on our face,” Joe Abshere said. Wayne Abshere, the family patriarch, died in 2001. His sons, Bobby and Chuck, still operate the first Wayne’s Drive Inn at Sheridan and Gore. “When my grandfather started it was only hamburgers and hotdogs,” Joe Abshere said. The menu has expanded to include breakfast, complete dinners, pizzas, steak fingers, salads, kiddie food and a variety of sides. Burgers, still considered the top menu choice, ranges from regular-sized hamburgers to triple-
