Tumbling down: Becker’s demolition brings back memories of root beer floats, double decker burgers

William L. and Joan D. Becker moved from Wisconsin in 1949 to open an A & W root beer stand at 1022 25th St. in Columbus. It operated through 2015 by their son, William Becker Jr., with carhops taking customers' orders and delivering them to their vehicle window.

A demolition crew is tearing down a landmark full of fond memories for Columbus residents, who will always think of frothy root beer and a coney dog when they remember Becker’s Drive-In, at 25th and Union streets.

Barring unexpected delays, the small frame building, awnings and serving windows at 1022 25th St. should be cleared within a matter of a few days, said Lee Stephenson, a supervisor with Tim and Daughters Property Management.

As awning pieces that once covered customer cars were brought down and stacked in piles, local residents with sad faces watched the demolition work from nearby sidewalks on Tuesday.

“Tears were just rolling down the face of one lady,” said Dan Piper, who is working with Stephenson to oversee the demolition project. “She said her grandmother used to take her to Becker’s all the time, so many of her memories of her (now-deceased) grandmother were right here.”

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Tuesday was also a tad melancholy for Denise Carter, whose family business has been located next to Becker’s for 43 years.

“It’s like an entire era is going away,” said Carter, whose family owns Carter Sweeper Sales, Inc. “Becker’s represented an era that brings many of us back to our youth.”

Stephenson says he has his own fond memories of Becker’s, explaining it was the very first restaurant he patronized when he first came to Columbus.

“And in 2007, when my son was born at Columbus Regional, Becker’s was the only place my wife wanted to eat after giving birth,” Stephenson said.

Time and commitment

When manager William “Bill” Becker Jr. announced in early 2016 that his restaurant would not reopen after 67 years of operations, several inquiries were made by local residents who expressed interest in reopening the restaurant, Becker said.

But the son of drive-in founders William L. “Bill” Becker, Sr. and his wife, Joan Dugan Becker said the time and commitment required to successfully operate a drive-in restaurant is much larger than most people expect.

“In order to make that restaurant work, we had to keep putting in a lot of personal time,” Becker said.

A former employee who worked 13 years at the drive-in recalls that family members were extremely hard-working.

“When we opened in the morning, Mrs. B. (Joan Becker) was already there doing the books — every day,” said Jenny Clark DeJarnette, who is now a registered nurse. “And when we closed at night, Mr. B (Bill Becker, Sr.) was always there to lock up, and make sure everyone got home safely.”

As DeJarnette recalls, the only personal time the couple took was a short lunch break. While she remembers her former boss could be strict at times, she also fondly remembers how concerned Becker Sr. was about the safety and welfare of his employees.

“I learned a lot from Mr. B. that still serves me today,” she said.

The couple’s schedule lightened up when their son took over the restaurant’s management in the mid-1980s. But after working more than 90 hours a week for nearly four decades, Becker Jr. said he was forced to re-evaluate the direction his life was taking.

“Even when you come home, all you talk about is work,” Becker said in a 2016 interview. “Your life revolves around your business.”

Tough decisions

After Becker, Sr. died at age 88 in 2013, the restaurant stayed open a few more years before a decision was made to close it for good.

Upon the death of her husband, Joan Becker found herself owning a considerable amount of property in the vicinity of the drive-in. Beside the restaurant, she inherited a large professional office complex north of the drive-in, as well as an office building west of the restaurant that faces 25th Street.

Although Becker’s Drive-In would never reopen after the 2015 warm weather season concluded, the family was hesitant to sell the property because “we were concerned who would go in there,” Becker Jr. said. “We didn’t want anything to distract from the professional offices we owned.”

After Joan Becker died last October at the age of 93, surviving family members began to liquidate her estate. The neighboring business offices were purchased by local investors that retained Russell Development Co. of Columbus to manage the property, company owner Brian Russell said.

However, Russell says he has no knowledge about what is being planned for the site of the former restaurant.

The land will not be placed on the market until after the building is completely removed, all asphalt is removed, and the ground is packed down to make it more marketable for development, Becker said.

Although the size of the restaurant building is only 775 square feet, the total lot size is 1,400 square feet, according to online county records. The property was recently assessed at $179,900, the records state.

Selecting mementos

Although Becker’s Drive-In has been closed four years, Becker Jr. admits he still occasionally feels he let down a number of people by closing the restaurant.

With those mixed feelings, Becker Jr. said he originally didn’t want to watch the start of demolition on Tuesday.

However, he did drop briefly after DeJarnette asked if she could have her picture taken with him one last time before everything was gone, he said.

While some of the restaurant equipment has been sold to start-up eateries or donated to regional food panties, much of it was outdated and had to be thrown away, Becker said.

“However, I did keep the popcorn machine,” he said. “I also kept the pot we used for making coney dog sauce, and I still make some occasionally for family and former employees.”

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Location: 1022 25th St.

Founded: Spring, 1949 (as an A&W Root Beer stand)

Original owners: William L. “Bill” Becker, Sr. and Joan Dugan Becker

Owner’s hometown: LaCrosse, Wisconsin

Best known products: Root beer, coney dogs and the 25th Street Double Decker burger

Closed: Fall 2015.

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After the Becker Drive-In building is razed, all debris will be removed, which includes the asphalt from the drive-in restaurant’s parking lot, owner Bill Becker Jr. said. 

The ground will be compacted to make it attractive for future development, he said. 

However, Becker says he will not begin marketing efforts until the site is prepared.  

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