Boehringer’s Drive In Adamstown PA – A Classic Roadside Food and Ice Cream Stand

It's hard to believe that this is the last official weekend of summer! That's why I want to quickly tell everyone about the sweet roadside stop Boehringer's Drive in in Adamstown PA -it is only open for the spring and summer season  and closes this year on Sunday September 13.

Boehringer's started in 1936 and has been at this roadside location since the late 1940's. Still owned and operated by the original family, the Schnader family is the fourth generation to delight roadside travelers with their hot dogs, hamburgers, sandwiches and home made ice cream.

The building itself is clean and simple with no indoor seating. Signs indicate to "Step Up To Order, Stand Back To Wait" and that process works well.

(These folks have stepped back to wait!)

The interior is covered in wonderful knotty pine paneling, harkening back to the 1950's, as does the Coca-cola clock and the big barrel advertising Pennsylvania Dutch rootbeer. I love the menu boards and regional Zerbe's chips!

(Doing some internet digging I find tell that Zerbe's chips come from Denver PA and are made by hand by one guy! Read more about Zerbe's chips here.)

Picnic tables line the edge of a stream that flows behind the drive in, parallel to the busy street, and half the fun of eating here is watching the ducks in the water, and the kids interact with them. As we sat eating our cheeseburgers and chicken cheese steaks, we heard many a loud "Quack! Quack!" from a blonde haired little girl and it reminded me of going to feed the ducks with my dad when I was small.

We did not get to try the ice cream, and I'm kicking myself now, because it's home made! Do both of us a favor, get yourself out to Boehringer's before it closes for the season, get yourself a cone or sundae, and report back!

If you go- Adamstown Pennsylvania is a gigantic antiques and collectibles mecca with thousands of dealers- I recommend the Mad Hatter shop as it's got lots of mid century and vintage items and clothes. It's across from Dave's diner, a vintage diner to try out on the off season when Boehringer's is closed!  There's also Stoudt's Brewery and down the road is the site of the original Zinn's diner (alas, renamed, restuccoed and the big stuatus of Amos the Amish is gone) but just so you know that it was there.