With the beginning of spring comes the opening of Rudy’s Drive-In, a La Crosse restaurant where guests can drive up and eat a meal in their cars or sit outside at picnic tables.
After being closed for the winter season, Rudy’s has opened its doors to the warm weather, and the servers are lacing up their roller skates, preparing to bring customers a classic Rudy’s experience.
“Nobody else [roller skates their food to their customers]. It separates us from everybody else. I think people like it. It brings them back to the 50s, 60s when drive-ins were really popular… it’s just classic,” said Justin Smith, owner of Rudy’s Drive-In.
Even though serving food on roller skates might seem daunting, Rudy’s server Jaycee Erickson said, “The roller skates are pretty fun, and they’re not as scary as they look.”
Rudy’s Drive-In was built in 1966 when drive-ins and roller-skating carhops were all the rage, and it actually began as a part of the A&W franchise. The current location was built by Dale Rudy, whose father, William Rudy had been running A&W root beer stands since 1933.
Dale Rudy’s son, Gary Rudy, took over the business in 1979 and departed from the A&W franchise a couple years later.
“They thought they were strong enough in the La Crosse community to drop the A&W name and just go to Rudy’s Drive-In. It worked out. That was a great move on their part,” said Smith.
Smith officially took ownership of Rudy’s in 2022 after 26 years of working with Gary Rudy. Smith had started at Rudy’s when he was just 14 years old and loves how Rudy’s has become a tradition in La Crosse.
“It’s fun to work with kids when they’re in high school and college, and then when they go off and get married and have kids, they’ll bring their families back. That’s the rewarding part,” said Smith.
Rudy’s has evolved into a tradition for many University of Wisconsin-La Crosse students who continue to come back, even after graduation.
“I’m a [UWL] alumni, so I would say coming back to Rudy’s reminds me of college and being here with friends… It’s very nostalgic,” said Siri Kuhn.
Kuhn and her friends usually come to Rudy’s for the ice cream, specifically the root beer floats. However, the dole whip is another favorite.
According to Smith, dole whip is a dairy free option with flavors that rotate weekly. They always have two flavors available, and each week they post on their Facebook page to let people know what will be featured.
Along with great food, Rudy’s Drive-In strives for cleanliness and great customer service.
“We think it’s all about the service, it’s all about the presentation, it’s all about the roller skates and friendliness,” Smith said.
Rudy’s Drive-In is open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. with the exception of Easter Sunday and the Fourth of July.
