http://newsok.com/coits-drive-ins-up-for-sale/article/3625976

Probably the best thing that can happen to them. Their food has gone seriously downhill for years, thus probably why they have had no money to reinvest back in the business. Hopefully someone with restaurant experience buys them up.

This is so sad. Coits has always been a place for my family for the quick burger or hot dog and cold root beer. Many memories. What's sad is that they are going to sell all three properties separately (probably for land use and something new). There is no intention or expectation to sell these and to remain as restaurants. Tough business for a mom and pop like this in the days of Sonic on every corner. Thanks for posting this. I was going to this morning, but just couldn't bring myself to do it. Some very personal memories over a period of years with Coits.

And, ljbab728 -- to you, Happy Thanksgiving! I know we've had our share of problems, but it seems silly because I have a feeling we share many of the same values. This is a good time to tell you I'm grateful for your presence here at OKCTalk - even with posts I might disagree with (not really that often) - I'm still glad we have thoughtful posters like yourself here at this forum. Hope we can start over.

This is so sad. Coits has always been a place for my family for the quick burger or hot dog and cold root beer. Many memories. What's sad is that they are going to sell all three properties separately (probably for land use and something new). There is no intention or expectation to sell these and to remain as restaurants. Tough business for a mom and pop like this in the days of Sonic on every corner. Thanks for posting this. I was going to this morning, but just couldn't bring myself to do it. Some very personal memories over a period of years with Coits.

And, ljbab728 -- to you, Happy Thanksgiving! I know we've had our share of problems, but it seems silly because I have a feeling we share many of the same values. This is a good time to tell you I'm grateful for your presence here at OKCTalk - even with posts I might disagree with (not really that often) - I'm still glad we have thoughtful posters like yourself here at this forum. Hope we can start over.

Thanks, Mike. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family. I think we probably agree more than we disagree but agreeing isn't any fun. LOL

I love their steak sandwiches and sweet potato fries.I am sorry to hear they are going to close the restaurants.

I never found their food to be great, but when we lived in Bush Hills growing up there was one near us on 50th & Portland so we went there often in high school for cheap decent food. My dad loved their breakfast, so we'd often spend a weekend morning there. I went to high school with one of the Coit grandkids and several PC Pirates I knew worked there in school. It is an icon, too bad it never progressed from mom and pop into a permanently sustainable landmark.

I havent experienced a decline in food quality over the years at all. Some things they always did really well and some other things they always did really bad. Good or bad it was always consistent. They did however get rid of a couple of value for the money things (soup & salad bar) that were excellent. And prices got rather high on some items (even at the half-price Tuesday specials, would be cheaper elsewhere). But I always got the chicken fried steak sandwich when it was on sale. Eat breakfast there at least once a week.

Very sad and I'm not optimistic anyone is going to buy and maintain the business. Families always want this to happen but it's usually very difficult to find someone that wants to operate something they didn't create and that is failing.

I have a lot of memories from both the 50th & Portland location and the one off I-44 & Penn. The former was a high school hangout and the latter was the place my family used to buy our Christmas trees -- and usually get a frosty root beer afterwards. I almost always stop for root beer when I'm in town and it has always been great.

The location at I-44 and Penn is great and I bet they find someone that will pay good money then put in yet another chain fast food place. The other two are less desirable.

I love their Root Beer in the ice cold mugs.

I think Coit's biggest problem is they never upgraded nor did they advertise and they were too dependent on seasonal operations. Most of their business came from people that lived in the immediate area or people that grew up dining there.

I predict 25th and Western will probably be pulled into the little mexico theme that is already in the area, 39th and Penn will likely be raised or converted into a night club or watering hole, 50th and Portland may survive however, it may be purchased by the Store Club for expansion and parking or replaced with another office building or medical clinic.

Saddest thing is to realize that the sale is really the end-game of what's been a long, slow deterioration of Coit's over the years. We don't live near any of the Coit's drive-ins, but anytime we found ourselves on the north side of town near Portland we'd always stop by and grab a frosty mug of root beer.

I think there was a great deal less interest in running the places once the senior Coit passed away, if not even farther back than that when I recall hearing (from heaven only knows who) that he was having health issues.

When I was a teenager, one of the neat things Coit's did was to run an OU-Texas ticket giveaway. He'd have one pair to give away at each restaurant on a simple drawing basis. What many did not know was that he got the tickets for those giveaways by running an ad in the Oklahoman where he'd offer a flat amount of money for one pair of tickets, no haggling, and that ad was usually enough for him to get several pairs of tickets. If you called him and asked if he had extras, he'd put your name on a waiting list, and he'd call you if he had any leftover. We got tickets from him a couple of times that way.

I called one year and asked if they when they'd be starting the ticket thing, and the answer was a sarcastic "oh, the family doesn't hassle with that stuff anymore, because Don's not really running it, family doesn't really care that much about it," words to that effect. It was really sad. Then the Christmas trees went away, and then they basically stopped maintaining the drive-ins. Maybe it was unintentional or a matter of expense, but the message that was clearly telegraphed to me was that whomever was running the thing didn't care about it anymore.

Realize different folks have different goals in life, and that doesn't always jibe with tradition or history, but its still sad to see the icon go.

Maybe a ray of hope exists in the report that The Restaurant Renovation Guy from The Food Network is coming to town . . .
(I loved the root beer in iced mugs, too.)

Maybe a ray of hope exists in the report that The Restaurant Renovation Guy from The Food Network is coming to town . . .
(I loved the root beer in iced mugs, too.)

Interesting. I wonder who makes/made the rootbeer for Coits?

A&W still serves their rootbeer in frosted mugs if you ask for it, but theirs was never as good IMHO as Coit's.

Frankly . . . (no subliminal reference to Mutts or Sonic) . . .
It wasn't so much The Root Beer, per se, that was "special" . . .
It was the frosted mugs.

And the overall Coit's Experience.
(Harking back to The Early Days of A&W before The Big Merger with Long John Silvers)

Personally . . . Some of the tastiest root beer I ever had was from Point Brewery in Wisconsin.
Maybe because we purchased it at an authentic Olde Tyme--Lake Wobegonesque--General Store
in a little spot by the road called Marais St. Croix on the Minnesota Side of the river.

Or, perhaps it was just the labeling and the cap.

http://www.delicioussparklingtemperancedrinks.net/rbeer/Beers.html

Yet . . . As you can see . . . "Point" ranks pretty low (down around 2.3) on The Official RootBeer Scale. =)
Heck . . . I don't think they even have it out at "Pops".

Frankly . . . (no subliminal reference to Mutts or Sonic) . . .
It wasn't so much The Root Beer, per se, that was "special" . . .
It was the frosted mugs.

And the overall Coit's Experience.
(Harking back to The Early Days of A&W before The Big Merger with Long John Silvers)

Personally . . . Some of the tastiest root beer I ever had was from Point Brewery in Wisconsin.
Maybe because we purchased it at an authentic Olde Tyme--Lake Wobegonesque--General Store
in a little spot by the road called Marais St. Croix on the Minnesota Side of the river.

Or, perhaps it was just the labeling and the cap.

http://www.delicioussparklingtemperancedrinks.net/rbeer/Beers.html

Yet . . . As you can see . . . "Point" ranks pretty low (down around 2.3) on The Official RootBeer Scale. =)
Heck . . . I don't think they even have it out at "Pops".

A&W's rootbeer is good, but I always thought it lacked a bit of fizz -- too syrupy for me. Don't get me wrong, it isn't bad, just think there are some better varieties out there. Dad's isn't bad for a national retail brand IMHO.

There's a chain of restaurants in the DFW area called "Humperdink's" that, just a few years ago, brewed its own recipe of root beer on-site, bottled and sold it under their house name, and it was GREAT. We bought a six-pack to take home that year and it had wonderful, rich flavor and just the right amount of fizziness.

Well, my son and I returned to Humperdinks for this first time in several years for a post-OU/Texas celebration supper, and the first thing we asked for was some of their root beer. "OK, we've got Barq's..." And I said "wait a minute, I thought you guys had this home-brewed root beer??" The waiter told me, "nah, we stopped doing that a few years ago." What a downer. Barq's is OK, but it ain't the homebrew stuff they had before..

Can't someone use the business model from the original "Classic 50's" in Norman?
They went through a LOT of changes and are doing well now.

My dad said he used to take the glass mugs from Coits.. I hope thats not why they are struggling!
I really hope someone has a passion for it and keeps it going!

Although I am fairly sure that the stealing of glass mugs, decades ago, by anyones' close relatives is not the immediate cause of Coit's current "strugglement" I will say that this sort of behavior is akin to leaving stuff on your plate at an all-you-can-eat buffet.

If The Root Beer, itself, was The Main Thing . . . Then I am reasonably sure that a deal could be cut with the New Jersey Family that produces The Number One Root Beer in the survey, linked above.

Personally . . . I would prefer that this all be kept local.

Perhaps a Qualified Local Food Truck Operator has always dreamed of Brick and Mortar instead of Tires and Gasoline and being hassled by The Man for alleged semi-"gyspy" behavior?

I think that these are just the sorts of questions we should be asking the Food TV Restaurant Re-Do Dude . . . If he actually shows up. He could probably facilitate the importation of that (#1) New Jersey Root Beer as well =).

In that case . . . NOBODY would be even thinking about pilfering the mugs. =)

Surely most restaurants (their owners anyway) realize what a product can/can’t accomplish as far as bringing in/sustaining business. That being said, a little research would show that root beer is ridiculously easy to make (especially if you just buy somebody else’s extract, no need to cook anything).

I still can’t believe more people haven’t cashed into root beer (or soda in general) like Aubrey McClendon has. Have you seen what 6pks of ‘specialty’ root beer are selling for out there? ~$10 a sixxer.. Absurd!

When my wife was up here a few weeks ago we went to a big Christmas sale thing at the Denver Convention Center, there was a soda company from Durango selling sodas in there (Zuberfizz - Durango Soda Company (http://www.zuberfizz.com/)), we bought a six-pack of Root Beer, it was around that same price. Pretty good stuff too. In Austin I would buy six-packs of root beer from the Saint Arnold Brewery (http://www.saintarnold.com/) in Houston along with some of their beers, good stuff as well.

I love their number ones(coney dog) and a mug of root beer...been going there for over 50 years. My mom started me off and now my daughters and their families go...

An update of sorts that I noticed on their reader boards. All 3 locations went to "Winter hours" with the one at 39th & Penn closing at 8 pm. Noticed the one on south Western closes at 3 pm?? Today, noticed the one at 39th & Penn had "We aren't going anywhere" posted. So maybe they have rethought selling at least that location.

An update of sorts that I noticed on their reader boards. All 3 locations went to "Winter hours" with the one at 39th & Penn closing at 8 pm. Noticed the one on south Western closes at 3 pm?? Today, noticed the one at 39th & Penn had "We aren't going anywhere" posted. So maybe they have rethought selling at least that location.

Yes, the 50th and Portland store has no plans to close. I talked to Don Coit's daughter, who was in the store, and she said that the Portland location is a "huge moneymaker."

Yes, the 50th and Portland store has no plans to close. I talked to Don Coit's daughter, who was in the store, and she said that the Portland location is a "huge moneymaker."

If this is true, hopefully they'll spend the money to clean and update this location. Was there a few weeks ago and the place was filthy. Complained to the person behind the counter that our table (group of 6) was dirty and sticky, her response ! she reached under the counter and handed me a wet rag.

Yes, the 50th and Portland store has no plans to close. I talked to Don Coit's daughter, who was in the store, and she said that the Portland location is a "huge moneymaker."

I had heard that too but the reader board I mentioned was at the 39th & Penn location not 50th & Portland. Based on the really early closing hours on the southside location, i am thinking that maybe that is the only one that is really up for sale????

aww, the S. Western location holds many memories for me. went to MSM HS and used to go to Coit's almost every morning for a sausage biscuit.

aww, the S. Western location holds many memories for me. went to MSM HS and used to go to Coit's almost every morning for a sausage biscuit.

It wouldn't take a leap for me to believe that Western location is the loser among the three. That stretch of Western is mostly a feeder into downtown these days, and the area immediately around that Coit's isn't the greatest. I'd imagine there's been a steady decline in traffic there over the years.

I concur with rcjunkie that the Portland location always looks like it desperately needs a bottle of Windex and a washrag. We go there maybe two or three times a year if we're over on that side of town to grab a root beer, but that's about it.

I understand that the current family may not want to run the places any more, but if you are still running them, why wouldn't at least some notion of pride compel you to at least try to keep the places neat and clean until you unload and/or close them? If nothing else, the appearance of an unclean restaurant isn't going to do anything to attract potential buyers...

I ate there 3 or 4 times a week. I believe Herman, an 80+ year old bus boy,
worked there. The place was a mess. I'd order my food and never
look up. Dirt was every where except in the kitchen. Loved their biscuits
and the croutons they'd make from them for lunch.

Is the first restaurant pictured in the NEWSOK video (not a Coits but I guess the predecessor) the current Chelinos by Capital Hill H.S.?

Coit's failed because of the same arrogance that most established Oklahoma restaurants suffer. Most big name Oklahoma restaurants have this belief that just because everyone has dined at their restaurant once, that they must all be regulars. Obviously there are empty seats every day but "everyone already knows about us" is their theme. Most Oklahoma restaurants don't understand marketing concepts such as "loyalty" or "increased frequency" or being "Top of mind" all they know is that everyone has had at least some exposure to their brand so that's good enough. They're like airline pilots who shut off their engines once they reach altitude. They fail to recognize that just because your local neighborhood has been sustaining them for years doesn't mean that people don't move, die, have a bad experience, competition moves in, etc. Once new business declines, they start making cuts on staff, food quality, etc. to make up the gap instead of trying to get new customers. Since their supported totally by regulars at this point, the regulars are very sensitive to the changes in quality, service, etc. and they start losing regulars too. Bottom line is that it's fatal for a restaurant to stop trying to attract new customers. Since Oklahoma City isn't as competitive as most large cities, true sound marketing is viewed as a gimmick instead of a regular business practice. Unfortunately most OKC restaurants would rather give coupons and discounts to current customers rather than gaining a new customer. It doesn't make since but it's what they're comfortable with and it's easier to do. It appears that Coit's was against any marketing, weather it be for new customers or to increase frequency and loyalty from current customers. In OKC you can probably still survive with that mentality but not when you food, service, value and cleanliness are also declining. All you have at that point is location and that's not enough. Considering that Coit's lived in the land of Sonic and Braums, it was just a matter of time and a blessing that they lasted as long as they did. If they were in another market, they would have been dust a long time ago.

Coit's decline started after Don Coit died. Like many small restaurants
when the owner passes away the business starts to dwindle. The family
should have sold the restaurant to an entrepreneur instead of letting
it die away. They still had the best hot dogs in town.

I heard the two remaining Coits locations have closed.

Can anyone verify?


If true, this has been coming for a while but still very, very sad.

I can confirm that the location on N Penn announced it had closed Friday morning, with phone calls to employees. Period.

Man I kept wanting to get up there for one last frosted mug root beer, tater round and coney, sucks that'll never happen.

Many, many high school memories at the Portland location and my family would always buy our Christmas tree at the one on Penn.

Yet another part of OKC history has faded away.

I worked at the 40th & Penn location in 8th grade (a long time ago) for .50cents an hour + tips. If i came up short on my money bag it came out of my tips. Never really made much in tips but it was my first real job. I used to go there in high school all the time. Sadly over the years the food declined. It lost it slowley over the years and I quit going there. My favorite thin was the chili coney dog and a root beer. I can still remember how awesome it was.

Yes, we tried to go to Coits at NW 50th and Portland over the weekend and it looks shut down for good.

Coit's decline started after Don Coit died. Like many small restaurants
when the owner passes away the business starts to dwindle. The family
should have sold the restaurant to an entrepreneur instead of letting
it die away. They still had the best hot dogs in town.

Don't know this for a fact, but I had heard some time ago that the "next generation" of the family wasn't really interested in taking the restaurants over. When Coit passed, whomever did take it over just didn't seem to have the enthusiasim for it, and stopped a lot of the fun things the senior Coit used to do, like have OU-Texas ticket drawings, Christmas tree sales, those kinds of things. I'd called to ask one year about them and whomever answered basically said "yeah, the family's not really interested in doing that stuff anymore."

Just sad.

Will miss the root beer.

Last of Coit's Drive-Ins in Oklahoma City closes | NewsOK.com (http://newsok.com/last-of-coits-drive-ins-in-oklahoma-city-closes/article/3734432)

So are ya' sayin' that yer puttin' the corpse of the beloved and popular Coit's in the proverbial plot ere Aubrey the Magnificent or Devon the Devine or even T Bone Pickins have been notified o' the potential windfall? O . . . Tis a dark day indeed when the last o' the real rootbeer/coney stands goes down (and up for sale at the same time!) Before they tear down the buildings . . . perhaps they could hire a local house moving company to turn them into mobile food trucks?

On the other hand it could be a perfect opportunity for The Battlin' Custinos to keep the feud going . . .

The video from the RetroMetroOKC meeting at Coit's on 50th and Penn in July will be up some time, when I get the password for the YouTube account to upload it.

Coit’s Collection | Retro Metro OKC (http://www.retrometrookc.org/coits-collection)

RetroMetroOKC - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/user/RetroMetroOKC/videos?view=0)

RetroMetroOKC Meeting - Coit's Drive-In (July 16 2012) - a set on Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/williamhider/sets/72157630625206440/)

While it's always sad when a business closes, Coit's seemed like a place you needed a personal history with to appreciate. I didn't grow up here, and had lunch at the 50th location once. It wasn't something I was anxious to repeat.

Yes, last time I ate there I was very disappointed and the place looked very run-down.

But their root beer was still fantastic.

While it's always sad when a business closes, Coit's seemed like a place you needed a personal history with to appreciate. I didn't grow up here, and had lunch at the 50th location once. It wasn't something I was anxious to repeat.

Well, you have to understand that once Don Coit passed, the restaurants really, really suffered. Mind you, it was never "fine dining," spit-and-polish perfect (heck, its a hot dog stand), but whomever took over upon Coit's passing clearly didn't break their neck to keep the places maintained. I do think an opportunity to turn them over to someone who perhaps was better suited to manage them was lost in the interim, unfortunately. Obviously too late now.

I wonder who makes their root beer? Surely its just purchased from some beverage company...??

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2X89GykKndI

Thanks Will!

Those videos will be a great chronicle when that Coits is ultimately torn down.


You can also see how rough the place had become.

Well, you have to understand that once Don Coit passed, the restaurants really, really suffered. Mind you, it was never "fine dining," spit-and-polish perfect (heck, its a hot dog stand), but whomever took over upon Coit's passing clearly didn't break their neck to keep the places maintained. I do think an opportunity to turn them over to someone who perhaps was better suited to manage them was lost in the interim, unfortunately. Obviously too late now.

I wonder who makes their root beer? Surely its just purchased from some beverage company...??

I once heard that the root beer was made on site; will seek to verify and report back on this.

Boscorama,
I believe that the root beer Coit's served was the same as Weber's which owned the stores when Coit's bought them. Weber's is still in business in Tulsa. I agree with you that they made it on site. I drank the root beer from both Weber's and then Coit's and I'm sure it was the same.
C. T.
I once heard that the root beer was made on site; will seek to verify and report back on this.

While Im not a fan of root beer, it will be sad to not be able to get one of their Dr Peppers. They had just a slightly different taste that made it stand out, along with the good crushed ice.

7237

Gosh I miss Coit's!

Drove by the old Coit's on Western today and that building has gone through some renovations. Definitely has more of a Hispanic look to it now but no signs posted to say what it was going to be.

I sure miss their Root Beer. It was a liquid dessert.

I sure miss their Root Beer. It was a liquid dessert.

Mel,
I don't drink soft drinks, I would say none, never except when I went to Coit's I always enjoyed their root beer. I started drinking it for free when I was whatever age that they gave you the tiny little frosted mug. It was in the mid/late 40's.
C. T.

I would get a glass of water to drink with the food and save the RB for afterwards. I gave up soft drinks years ago. Last time I tasted a coke it felt like it was burning my tongue.

I would get a glass of water to drink with the food and save the RB for afterwards. I gave up soft drinks years ago. Last time I tasted a coke it felt like it was burning my tongue.

Mel,
The closest thing I have had to a soft drink (since the early 70's) is cider at a pub in England. I didn't realize that what I thought was a "cask ale", was actually cask cider. I'm just not a sweets person, I gave them up at the same time I gave up soft drinks. Now, I eat and drink all the other things that are bad for me, but no sweets.
C. T.

Whoever has the recipe for their root beer could make a fortune bottling and selling it.

I don't smoke, I can take-or-leave alcohol, but if I had to admit to one vice, it's a tall glass with ice and a Coca-Cola. Even better if it's the Mexican stuff with real sugar.

Whoever has the recipe for their root beer could make a fortune bottling and selling it.

I don't smoke, I can take-or-leave alcohol, but if I had to admit to one vice, it's a tall glass with ice and a Coca-Cola. Even better if it's the Mexican stuff with real sugar.

MadMonk,
Odd that you say "even if it's the Mexican stuff with real sugar". That's real Coca Cola, the way it was until what thirty years ago? Also, if you are ever in Tulsa, stop at Weber's, they have the root beer and the recipe. Coit's was Weber's when I was growing up, and even though Coit's bought it in 1952, they didn't change the name until 1959. And the root beer they sold was of course Weber's.
C. T.

Also, if you are ever in Tulsa, stop at Weber's, they have the root beer and the recipe. Coit's was Weber's when I was growing up, and even though Coit's bought it in 1952, they didn't change the name until 1959. And the root beer they sold was of course Weber's.
C. T.

They are serving Weber's Root Beer in the bottle at Mighty Dog just south of NW 23rd on Portland.

Drove by the old Coit's on Western today and that building has gone through some renovations. Definitely has more of a Hispanic look to it now but no signs posted to say what it was going to be.

There were signs up at least a few weeks ago that it was going to become a Hispanic-themed bakery. It looked like someone had put a BUNCH of work into it, too!!!!

I, too, miss Coit's, tho. When I was a kid, going to the drive-in and hitting the OrderMatic button off one of those backlit menus was just larger than life. I know, I know, Sonic has the contemporary version of it, but...it....just....ain't...the....same...

Where else could you get a cheeseburger or wonderfully heart stopping chili dog with delicious root beer AND a Christmas tree all in one stop. I road trip up 66 to Tulsa every now and then. I will have to try out Webbers.