Sweet Indulgence: Area residents enjoy summer treats at Scooby\'s

Tag : Hard Ice Cream Machine

“It's kind of hard to remember, but I know it used to be aDairy Dogs and a Dairy Ripple before it was Scooby's,” said12-year-old Devin Mottet. “I remember they used to havechocolate eyes on their ice cream.”

As Mottet and three of his friends sat beneath a red-and-yellowtable umbrella Friday, sipping chocolate and strawberry shakes andmunching from a communal bag of french fries, they couldn't helpreminiscing with one another.

“Remember when they had that bubble gum machine and you couldwin a shake if you got a white one?” recalled 12-year-oldJake Winters.

Scooby's Hot Dogs entered its third season in Sycamore on Wednesdayby opening for the summer, and many local customers were eager tosee the “open” sign light up once again.
The Kuchera family of Maple Park said they drove by the retrodrive-through restaurant almost 10 times before finally being ableto stop this summer for the family's favorite - strawberry shakesand fries.

“We were very happy that they were finally open,” saiddad Joe Kuchera.

Kuchera brought his sons, 7-year-old Jimmy and 10-year-old Joey,and his wife, Chau, to Scooby's Hot Dogs to indulge in summertreats after driving into town for haircuts. Joe Kuchera said theyusually stop by the restaurant once a week during the summer seasonand enjoy the friendly atmosphere.

“Wendy's is good, but this is a family-type place, and welove coming here,” Joe Kuchera said.

According to manager Chris Brady, the restaurant was scheduled toopen earlier in the season, but the owner of Scooby's Hot Dogs hadhealth difficulties, and the opening was postponed.
Workers were busy Friday, filling drive-through orders and servingwalk-up customers in the 90-degree heat. Scooby's Hot Dogs servesshakes and ice cream, but specializes in Vienna hot dogs andhomemade fries, cut fresh every day.

Brady said the store hopes to held the city of Sycamore by holdingevents, such as car shows, fundraisers for local organizations andcar washes at the drive-through.

“We're willing to help out the community in any way wecan,” Brady said.