After going out of business more than three years ago, the former Musillami’s Drive-In, 895 Jonesville Road, was demolished Tuesday.
“This means the passing of the last (mom and pop) drive-in in this whole area,” said Columbus resident Terry Clark while watching an excavator rip through the roof and walls. At the same time, a nearby bulldozer was clearing the rubble and smoothing over the ground.
Along with Becker’s Drive-In, Frisch’s Big Boy and Jerry’s Restaurant, Clark says Musillami’s had been one of his favorite places to eat when he was in high school in the late 1960s.
While the restaurant was best known for pizza burgers, one of Musillami’s most valued offerings was a warm sense of nostalgia.
The fond memories began after Helen and Jasper Musillami leased the drive-in 1956 and bought it in 1957. While the couple kept the existing name of “Dairy Girl” for five years, the name was changed to Musillami’s Drive-In Restaurant in 1962.
Construction on the first detached canopy for drive-in service took place in 1958. Larger canopies were added in 1998.
The restaurant would eventually be taken over by Helen and Jasper’s son, Mike Musillami. He ran the business for several years before purchasing the facility and property in 2017, property records state.
Besides the food, Musillami’s was also known for supporting the community by sponsoring a number of local sports teams and assisting charitable efforts. Their last locally-owned competitor, Becker’s Drive-In at 25th and Union streets, ceased operations after the 2015 season.
While the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic harmed many local restaurants, Mike Musillami later said his business remained good with carry-out orders from customers who wanted to stay in their vehicles.
But on Nov. 28, 2021, the Musillami family announced the establishment would not reopen.
“For us,this has been a bittersweet decision, but it is time to retire,” a family member wrote on social media. “We will miss all of you. No one had or has better friends and patrons. Thank you for 64 amazing seasons.”
In early January, the Musillami property was purchased by a neighboring business, Indiana Precast Inc., for $250,000, property records state.
Indiana Precast specializes in drainage solutions. Many of their concrete products, which include risers, inverts, cones, wing walls and box culverts, can be seen on land that almost surrounded the restaurant before it was demolished.
