The A & W was the local hangout in the 60’s, and it’s still considered, now as the Peppermint Twist, “the best!”

It began as an A & W Drive-In.

Memories from the A & W…

“I started working at the A&W when I was 15. In just a few days I turned 16 so I was "legal". Henry Holmberg and his wife, Ruth owned the place at that time. I was fortunate enough to work the kitchen, the front, and car hop. It was a fun place to work. Judy Grengs, Marcia Brandenburg, Nola Enos, Mary Lou Logsdon, Janet Bauman, Jean Buch, Alice Askov were some of the people I worked with. It was a fun job because everybody seemed to hang out there at some time during the summer.”

The first ad for the A & W Drive-in in Delano appeared May 23, 1957. But by June 13, 1957, it was under new management, that of Henry Holmberg and his wife Ruth. Harold and Joyce Nelson were the next owners, managing the drive-in for over 25 years, first as an A & W, and after losing the franchise, as the Delano Drive-In.

“Yes, I carhopped along with others from Delano High School about 1958-1960. It was a fun job, but we worked very hard most of the time as it was such a busy popular place to eat and meet friends. “

“I worked for Harold and Ruth the summer of 1966 with a number of class of 1967 girls. We worked hard but it was a fun job too.”

“My aunt Kay met her husband at the A & W. She was a car hop and he was a cook.”

“I started working at the A & W the summer before my 8th grade year. Such a fun job. I cooked with Colleen Klaers for at least 2 summers. I worked there 5 summers total. Lots of other girls worked there too, including my sister Shelly Smith.”

“I worked for Harold Nelson at the A & W through high school and college, cooking with Terri Traen and others, approximately from 1975 -1981.” 

“I worked at the A&W when Harold would go to the County Fair.”

“Pam Diem worked with me too!”

“I worked at the A & W from the spring of 1974 to the end of June of 1976. Harold and Penny Ditty taught me how to run the kitchen. I remember telling Harold Nelson in late June of ‘76 that I was quitting on July 1st so I could attend court reporting school in Minneapolis starting Monday, July 5th. He looked at me and said, “Jean, you’re making the biggest mistake of your life.” I guess I should have stayed flipping burgers and making french fries for $1.25 an hour for the rest of my life.”

“I worked there the summer of ninth grade. We had moved to Delano from Loretto.”

“I loved working summers at the A & W 1976-1979. Having friends stop by and hang out at those walk-up windows are good memories. And working shifts with Kim Kusha, Patty Ditty, and Mary Kay Metz – so fun! Our boss, Harold was an interesting personality”

“I worked there the summer of 1980. I was a cook.”

“Someone came in alone and ordered a root beer float from their car on the “ordermatic” when the carhop took it out, I pushed a wiener down into the ice cream and turned on the order machine in the building. As he drank the float, I heard him say “What the??!!! Traen!!!” as the wiener rose out of the ice cream. Working there wasn’t work. It was fun and everyone there was a blast.”

The flood waters in 1965 were so high that only the roof of the drive-in was above water.

In 1982 Mike and Vickie Mirenda bought the Delano Drive-in from Kathy and Dewayne Platzer. It needed some work. Plans to have Italian food were abandoned as the drive-in became busier and busier. When Hardees came to Delano in 1988, they decided the old colors from the A & W had to go, and they painted the exterior of their building pink, instantly becoming the signature color for the Peppermint Twist. It drew people’s attention, and got them stopping in.

The famous raspberry shake was created when a salesman suggested tossing his raspberries into a shake. For a brief time, there was a mini-golf course on the north end. The first painted decorations were balloons and clowns, but that soon changed to teddy bears. The addition of hula-hoops in the fenced area soon developed into Teddy Bear Park. Over the years the fenced playground full of toys, the wishing well filled with treasures, the picnic tables, and the jukebox music added to the draw of burgers, fries, and the popular shakes.

A Teddy Bear fence now defines the west boundary. The building, with some remodeling, is the original from 1957, but the canopy was replaced in 2000 following a partial collapse after heavy snow. The Peppermint Twist attracts people from all over to eat, play, and have fun. WCCO voted it the Best Drive-In Restaurant in Minnesota in 2016, and it was again recognized in the 2017 Mpls. St. Paul magazine Best of Summer issue.

One of things Vickie and Mike emphasis is how great their staff is. Many of the girls that work there have been daughters and granddaughters of the girls that worked as carhops in the 50’s and 60’s

A recent comment was “I remember going there when it first opened, and we make it a destination every time we come back to Delano.”

“The raspberry shake is an all-time favorite!”