New drive-in serves up 1950s nostalgia

Freddy Fratz will hold its grand opening Saturday.
By TIM YOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- There was a time when young guys in their well-waxed cars studded with chrome cruised in or by the A & amp;W Drive-in on Youngstown Road.
It was a period when the guys with their ducktail haircuts and girls in their poodle skirts and bobby socks listened to Frankie Avalon, Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino and the Supremes.
The A & amp;W closed three years ago after 41 years in business. It stood vacant until Dan Janiw of Warren decided to reopen it with a '50s and '60s atmosphere.
On Saturday, Janiw will have the grand opening of his Freddy Fratz Drive-in and Cafe at 2746 Youngstown Road S.E. location, just down the street from the former Hills department store and northwest of the Eastwood Mall.
It's complete with carhops -- some in roller skates -- who serve customers sitting in their vehicles.
The 43-year-old Janiw grew up just down the street.
"I used to come here. I was a frequent customer," he said, noting he would hear the stories of the cruising.
How idea started
The idea for Freddy Fratz emerged when Janiw's father-in-law, Pat Padula, recalled the hot dogs he would buy in Chicago during the '70s.
"Maybe we're onto something," Janiw said after he and Padula came up with a tasty hot dog and a half-pound hamburger.
The drive-in is named after the "Adventures of Freddy Fratz," a comic strip published by Hugh Heffner before his Playboy magazine days.
Janiw, who works full time at the Trumbull Correctional Institution and operates Hot Spot Tanning and Fitness across the street from the drive-in, has created the atmosphere of a diner with stainless steel, neon lighting and ceramic tile on the walls.
There's even a 1957 version of a pay telephone.
The drive-in opened March 1 and now has 24 full- and part-time employees.
Customers sitting at the counter can watch and listen on televisions to DVDs of period singers. Janiw said he will be installing a large-screen TV on the roof so parking-lot customers can watch the DVDs and listen to the music on an FM in their vehicles.
The drive-in features motorcycle night Tuesdays and open car shows Thursdays. A stage in the parking lot will allow for sock hops with jitterbug contests.
Looking ahead
Janiw, who hopes to franchise his first drive-in, explained that he isn't running a fast-food drive-thru. The food isn't cooked until ordered.
"We want you to stay and feel the atmosphere," he said.
Freddy Fratz is open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday.
The menu includes burgers, hot dogs and other sandwiches, floats, sodas, sundaes, soft drinks (including root beer of course), and Katie's Korner ice cream.
yovich@vindy.com