One of my favorite states for classic car cruisin’ shows is Ohio. Ohio doesn’t let a summer weekend go by without one and between weekends you can often find one or more happening somewhere. From small towns like Huron, Ohio, to big cities like the state capital of Columbus, shinny, colorful classics frequently trimmed in large amounts of chrome rule.

Weekends and weekdays regular Cruise-Ins can be found in places like the Dairy Queen in Huron, Quaker Steak and Lube in Sheffield Village and our favorite, Bearden’s in Rocky River.

Bearden’s has been around since 1934 although it didn’t have the Bearden’s name until 1948. If you lived in Rocky River during the 1950’s and early 1960’s, this was the place you came to after a game or movie or just to hang out with your friends. Fellas brought their dates here for the famous burgers and onion rings or fries and the milk shakes! Carloads of girls came. Unattached fellas hung out in the back part of the parking lot whistling at the girls driving by.

One of the main features of this hangout was the curbside service. There were speakers in the parking spaces to call in your order. When it was ready, a young girl on roller skates would deliver the food on a tray that attached to the partially rolled up window on the driver’s side. That went by the wayside when central air became the norm in the late 60’s and inside was more comfortable in the heat or cold. But at the time, your brother was in the hot summer kitchen cooking the burgers!

The train, another main feature, is still there up near the ceiling traveling around the perimeter of the seating area. It’s not the same train and it doesn’t puff smoke any more but children still love it as well as those who remember what it was like back in the day. And every Monday evening during the summer is the perfect opportunity to see all those shinny classic cars once again. 

We didn’t forget telling you about the chrome!

 One of our favorite classics below. Our mom had one!

There’s another one I remember well. Belonged to a girlfriend’s mother but we had many interesting, fun and one or two scary adventures in it. Hers was yellow.

If you get to Cleveland (don’t forget our Cleveland Rocks blog post!), head to Rocky River. It’s the second burb west of Cleveland along the lake shore. GPS 19985 Lake Road and look for the Bearden’s Bear on the sign for some great Monday evening classic burgers and shiny car gazing!