Modern society fetishizes technology, worships convenience and strives for technological-driven convenience above most everything. If this year’s coveted Rube Goldberg SmartMachine can be made easier and cheaper by robots in foreign lands, or constructed out of lower-quality materials, then doggone it, the average person or business will happily take the cheaper, easier option, thank you very much.
But the “old school” way of doing some things will always have merit among folks who appreciate an extra dollop of elbow grease in their products.
B&K Root Beer in Cuyahoga Falls is an old-school drive-in now in relatively new hands. The stand itself has been in business for 64 years, and three seasons ago (that’s how you tell time in the old-school drive-in biz), Christy and Scott Reynolds purchased the spot, making them only the third owners in those six decades. They gave it a fresh coat of paint, added a few fryers (“You don’t come here for health food,” Christy Reynolds said) and have kept the tradition going strong and tasty.
Eddie Paolucci is a regular who across his 30 years of patronage has seen the changes and keeps coming back for more, at least a few times a week. The longtime Cuyahoga Falls resident and former trumpeter with the Phil Palumbo Big Band was enjoying his favorite chocolate milkshake (and hoping to chat with Laura, his favorite server) on the eve of his 85th birthday, bantering with Mama Reynolds.
“They got the best hot dogs in town. The best! Their coney sauce is so good and the buns are nice and soft and moist,” he said.
Paolucci is like many of the B&K fans who enjoy the laid-back environment and friendly family service provided by sons Brian and Scott and daughter Madison. But Paolucci is likely the only regular who may break out his trumpet and grace the drive-in with a peppy rendition of Tijuana Taxi by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass Band.
There are only three B&K Root Beers left in the area, all independently owned and operated. The one in the Falls has managed to expand the menu and options a bit while also keeping things relatively simple. There are, of course, the traditional hot dogs, which include classics such as the Spanish Dog with homemade coney sauce, the Kraut Dog and the Beanie Dog, all under $3.
But B&K Root Beer v3.0 has also added fresh handmade hamburgers — formerly a once-a-week treat — to the daily menu, along with a nice array of deep-fried sides such as tater tots, mac and cheese bites, chicken strips and cheese sticks. It also offers soft serve, slushies and thick, rich hand-dipped hard ice cream in cones or cups.
Cuyahoga Falls natives Jake Kull and Josh Tonkin, both 20, have been coming to B&K since they were teenagers. They were high school friends with one of the previous owner’s sons, and they say B&K is a well-known fixture in town.
“Most people know this around here just as a root beer stand. If you grew up in the Falls, you just know this place is here,” said Kull, who is studying to be a firefighter.
“It’s mellow … it’s just … good. I love it here,” Kull said.
The two were relaxing after a golf outing with their favorite cheese dogs and a quart of the famous homemade root beer.
Yes, let’s talk about the root beer. The Reynoldses use the original recipe as formulated in the mid-1940s, which means there is no corn syrup, no propylene glycol alginate nor artificial flavors. But there is plenty of sugar: 77 pounds of pure cane sugar per vat (that’s how you measure volume in the old-school drive-in biz). It’s sweet, earthy and not overly carbonated — and possibly a bit addictive. You can buy it in standard cups, quarts or by the gallon.
“Get a little exercise, then have a cheese dog and quart of root beer,” Tonkin, a University of Akron student, said with a laugh.
“You can’t pass that up,” Kull said.
Bill and Kathy Karnuth of Cuyahoga Falls agree that the pure root beer, food, and the relaxed friendly service and environment have kept them coming back since the 1980s.
“They don’t try and make it bigger. It’s small and it’s family,” Bill Karnuth said.
The couple were making their first trip of the season to B&K.
“We were on the way home and it was either fix something when we got home or stop. So here we are,” Kathy said, easily rattling off her standard order in one quick exhale: “Coneydogfriesrootbeer.”
“Mustard only, yellow mustard only. No ketchup on hot dogs,” Bill said.
“He’s a purist, none of that brown stuff. The kids do ketchup. But they outgrow it,” Kathy said.
Everything at B&K comes with that dash of elbow grease, as they hand-make everything daily from the coney sauce to the milk shakes, the baked beans and the hand-formed hamburger patties.
B&K Root Beer operates primarily analog in all the best ways (they do take debit and credit cards now, and have wi-fi).
Christy Reynolds summed it up: “We like good stuff.”
Malcolm X Abram can be reached at mabram@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3758. Follow him on Facebook at http://on.fb.me/1lNgxml or on Twitter @malcolmabramABJ .