A Look Back at 2010 for the LaPlace Frostop

The year 2010 started off the 52nd year for the LaPlace Frostop! As we look forward to 2011 and our 53rd year of serving the River Parishes, we look back at the year that was 2010.

The biggest news for our LaPlace Frostop in 2010 was the filming of a scene for TNT's new show Memphis Beat! The crew filmed on July 6th and the episode "I Shall Not Be Moved" aired on August 10th.

Crew setting up for Memphis Beat

We started a new tradition with our 1st DJ Saturday in August. It is an event where everyone can enjoy great tunes, delicious food, and good times. It was a sucess and was followed with two more in October and November. It will return in March 2011.

DJ Saturday Flier

New menu items were added this year - our BBQ Grilled Chicken Sandwich, Salsa Burger, and our Frostop Frenzy.

Frostop Frenzy Flier

The year also brought us new friends to our Frostop family - the Riggen's Frostop of Chrisman, IL (built in 1954). Not long after we featured them in our blog, their Frostop had a devastating fire. We had a 50/50 raffle and through our local Frostop supporters helped to raise $340 to help them rebuild. They reopened in October to huge crowds.

50/50 Raffle Flier We had our 1st We CAN Make a Difference food drive for Second Harvest Food Bank and collected 175 pounds of food for a very worthy cause.

We CAN Make A Difference Flier

In November we met Cathi Deever, daughter of CJ Pastor the first person to lease out and run the LaPlace Frostop from Morris Terry! She sent us a great picture of her Dad and brother in front of the LaPlace Frostop 1958.

CJ Pastor & son Ken 1958

In December, we were extremely honored by Navy CWO5 Michael Fontenot for presenting us with a flag flown over Bagram, Afghanistan 9-11-10. We can not begin to thank Michael enough for his service to our country.

Jimmie Toler & Michael Fontenot

Thank you to our great LaPlace Frostop crew!

And finally thank you to all of our loyal LaPlace Frostop customers, without you we could not continue our LaPlace Frostop tradition.

We CAN Make a Difference!

Starting November 1st, get 10% off of your order by donating a canned good for the Second Harvest Food Bank at the LaPlace Frostop.

http://no-hunger.org/

Give back by donating some daily non-perishable food items like: Peanut Butter, soup/stew, canned fruit/vegetables, tuna fish, chili, cereal, beans, pork & beans, juice, pasta, and crackers.

Canned food drive and discount offer last until November 20, 2010.

LaPlace Frostop Ad 1963

LaPlace Frostop Ad Originally uploaded by FT1958

Great LaPlace Frostop ad from May 1963! The ideal hot weather combination Icy Cold Frostop Root Beer and delicious Frostop hamburger for 19 cents or all the way 25 cents!

DJ Saturday October 16, 2010

Join us for great tunes, delicious food, and good times at DJ Saturday October 16th from 2pm - 6pm. Classic cars and motorcycles are welcome. Our 1st DJ Saturday was a great success back on August 7th. We skipped a month in order to be able to enjoy some great October weather in South Louisiana! So come on out and bring the family for a great time. We will once again have our Color the Mug for a Cone which was enjoyed by the young and young at heart at the last DJ Saturday.

Hope to see everyone at the LaPlace Frostop!

The New LaPlace Frostop Frenzy!

Introducing our all new LaPlace Frostop Frenzy! Delicious soft serve vanilla ice cream blended with your choice of candy - Butterfingers, Nestle Crunch, Snickers, or M&M's. Stop by the LaPlace Frostop and enjoy the Frostop Frenzy today!

Frostop Mug on the Go!

Frostop bottled root beer -www.frostop.com - has taken the concept of root beer to go to an extreme! The giant root beer mug, that is the symbol of Frostop root beer, is on a travel trailer pulled by an "mobile thirst aid" ambulance. Hoping to one day get to see the Frostop mug on the go in action!

1929 Frostop Root Beer Stores Letter

The folks at www.frostop.com were kind enough to send us a copy of a 1929 letter from Frostop founder L.S. Harvey to Ernest Nelson of Chicago, Illinois. The letter is dated December 2, 1929, and it details a potential Frostop distribution in the Chicago area.

To read the actual letter: www.flickr.com/photos/laplacefrostop/sets/72157624113046473/

Copy of envelope

We would like to thank the folks at www.frostop.com for sharing this important piece of Frostop history with us!

Original Contract to build the LaPlace Frostop

Original Contract to build the LaPlace Frostop
Originally uploaded by FT1958

A great find going through old boxes at home! The original contract for my granfather Morris Terry to have our LaPlace Frostop built for $9500.

Ted's Frostop - New Orleans, LA

Ted's Frostop - New Orleans, LA
Originally uploaded by FT1958

The mug was knocked off of its pole during Hurricane Katrina. In true New Orleans fashion, life goes on, Ted's left the mug upside down and had it repainted. They now use the upside down mug as their logo. Ted's Frostop went so far as to put the upside down mug logo on their shirts!

LaPlace Frostop on Memphis Beat

The LaPlace Frostop made its debut on national television on August 10, 2010. The TNT television show, Memphis Beat, gave us our shot at the "big time". We were shown in the last five minutes of the eighth episode titled "I Shall Not Be Moved". The scene starts out with a shot of the mug rotating in all its glory!

1st shot of the LaPlace Frostop on Memphis Beat

from the tv screen As the camera zooms in on the scene you see Dwight Hendricks, Jason Lee, walking over to join Lt. Rice, Alfre Woodard, at picnic tables in the front of the building. They are discussing the case they are working on. Dwight receives a phone call from Sutton confirming that there was no rain in Fayetteville, Arkansas in the month of December 1958. Dwight and Lt. Rice talk about the case a bit more before getting up to leave ending the scene.

Dwight and Lt. Rice in the front of the building from the tv screen

The episode was filmed at the LaPlace Frostop the morning of July 6, 2010. Here are a few shots from the crew setting up to shoot the scene.

They changed us to the Memphis Frostop

Dwight's Car Under the Mug

Various stages of the crew setting up

Jason Lee with LaPlace Frostop owner Terry Toler

The official Memphis Beat website:

http://www.tnt.tv/series/memphisbeat/

Memphis Beat's Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/MemphisBeatTNT?ref=ts

We would like to thank TNT and the crew and cast of Memphis Beat for choosing us to be in their great show.

50/50 Raffle to Benefit in the Rebuilding of the Riggen's Frostop

The LaPlace Frostop will be having a 50/50 raffle this weekend at its DJ Saturday, August 7th from 2-6pm, to benefit the rebuilding of the Riggen's Frostop of Chrisman, Illinois. The Riggen's Frostop has been a part of the Chrisman community since 1954. The building was severely damaged by fire on the morning of June 29th.

Article about the fire:

http://www.parisbeacon.com/articles/2010/07/30/news/doc4c52be5a3661d338129109.prt

To view a video about the fire click the link below:

http://weiu.net/index.php?option=com_hwdvideoshare&task=viewvideo&Itemid=32&video_id=671

View from Outside

The damage was mainly confined to the inside of the building. They will not only need to rebuild the interior but replace all equipment.

Destroyed Equipment

An original functioning root beer barrel destroyed by the fire Root beer barrel picture courtesy of Debra Jane Seltzer www.RoadsideArchitecture.com

Building Gutted We are asking all of those that come out to our DJ Saturday to buy chances in the 50/50 raffle to help another community keep its Frostop tradition going strong!

To read our past blog article on the Riggen's Frostop click the link below:

http://laplacefrostop.blogspot.com/2010/05/riggens-frostop-chrisman-ilinois.html

LaPlace Frostop 1st DJ Saturday

LaPlace Frostop 1st DJ Saturday Originally uploaded by FT1958

Join us Saturday August 7, 2010 from 2-6pm for our 1st DJ Saturday! It will be an afternoon of great tunes, delicious food, and good times. Classic cars and motorcycles are welcome. We are hoping to make this a monthly event so spread the word and help to make the 1st DJ Saturday a success. Hope to see everyone at the LaPlace Frostop!

LaPlace Frostop Salsa Burger

LaPlace Frostop Salsa Burger
Originally uploaded by FT1958

Try our our delicious new sandwich addition - the Salsa Burger! It is a Lot-O-Burger dressed with shredded cheddar cheese, mayonaise, picante sauce, lettuce, tomato, and jalapeno peppers. It is $3.35 on bun or toast and $5.65 on poboy. Stop by the LaPlace Frostop and try one out today!

Frostop Building Design and Patent

The first Frostop root beer stand was opened in 1926 by Mr. L.S. Harvey in Springfield, Ohio. Frostop stands spread throughout the country until the onset of World War II. During the war years, the expansion slowed due to shortages of building materials, equipment, etc.

Early Frostop design

After the war, the chain resumed expansion. It was during this time that T.W. Ganus opened the South's first Frostop in 1954. He used the slogan "Under the Sign of the Revolving Stein." Mr. Ganus copyrighted the the design of the building and mug to be used by Frostop operators across the country. His design used the unique replica of a frosted mug filled with root beer revolving atop the Frostop building. He sold the design and patent to Frostop to be used on a national scale.

Metal Frostop Patent at the LaPlace Frostop

The patent was #183,836 for combined beverage and food vending building. The application for the patent was made July 15, 1957 - serial #46,953. The patent date was November 4, 1958. The term was for 14 years.

Front drawing of building from patent application LaPlace Frostop original building - 1958

To see the actual patent click the link below:

www.google.com/patents?id=N8JzAAAAEBAJ&zoom=4&pg=PA1#v=onepage&q&f=false

Information for this article courtesy of:

Frostopics Vol.1 No.2 August 1963

http://www.frostop.com/

United States Patent Office

LaPlace Frostop Homemade Root Beer Facts

In celebration of the beginning of summer, we would like to share some of our LaPlace Frostop homemade root beer facts!

Yes, we actually still make our homemade root beer at the restaurant. The root beer is made about every 10 days - giving us 5 tanks of the product. We serve approximately 180 tanks a year. That works out to 900 gallons or 115,200 ounces of root beer!!

Our root beer is available in a frozen mug or cups that come in 12, 16, 24, and 32 oz. It also is available in our 1/2 gallon containers. So try our delicious homemade root beer today! If you really want a great summer treat - try our root beer float.

Riggen's Frostop, Chrisman, Illinois

Next up in our series on Frostop's Across the United States is the Riggen's Frostop located in Chrisman, Illinois.

Part 2:

Riggen's Frostop Chrisman, IL The Frostop in Chrisman, Illinois was built in 1954 by E.O. Tate. Rena Riggen started working for Mr. Tate in 1955. In 1956, Rena and her husband Robert (Bob) Riggen, began leasing the Frostop from Mr. Tate. They leased the restaurant for three years, but in 1959, Mr. Tate sold the Frostop to Luther Vandevander. Rena stayed on and worked for him. Two years later, Rena and Bob bought the Frostop. Since 1961, the Frostop in Chrisman has been run by the Riggen family.

Rena Riggen & daughter Sue Riggen Lawlyes

In the early 1990's, Rena & Bob's children took over the restaurant. Their children, Sue & Dave, now run the restaurant. Rena, now 88 years old, still works everyday part time. Robert Riggen sadly passed away in 2002 and his long time presence at the Frostop is missed everyday.

Dave Riggen The Riggen's Frostop still uses car hops and does not have indoor seating. The restaurant offers service to cars, picnic tables, and to go orders. The menu consists of hamburgers, hot dogs, BBQ sandwiches, catfish dinners, Italian beef dinners, ice cream, and of course the famous root beer in a frosty mug. New this year to the menu is pizza which is already a good seller.

Newest menu item - Pizza!

The Frostop is seasonal and is open from mid March until mid October due to the COLD Midwestern winters. The Riggen's Frostop has been Chrisman's local landmark and hangout since it was built. The small town has a population of 1400 and in Chrisman, Frostop is "THE" place to be!

The Frostop celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2005 with a cruise in car show, a band, and they even had car hops both past and present. The celebration was enjoyed by all!

50th anniversary cruise in 2005

Terrific video of the Riggen's Frostop from 1994.

To see the video from Episode 522 from Thursday July 14, 1994 on the Riggen's Frostop click the link below.

http://will.illinois.edu/prairiefire/segment/pf1994-07-14-c/

The Riggen's Frostop Facebook group:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=263951728390&ref=ts

I would like to thank Mandi Lawlyes Cochran, the grandaughter of Rena, for all of her help with the information for this article! The Frostop in Chrisman, Illinois is located at:

314 Pennsylvania

Chrisman, IL 61924

Phone: 217-269-2223

Huntington, West Virginia Frostop

This will be the first in what I hope to be a series on other Frostop from across the United States. With the few remaining Frostop scattered across the country, I thought it was important to document those that are left.

Part I:

Huntington Frostop

The Frostop in Huntington, West Virginia is co-owned by sisters Marilyn Murdock and Bing Murphy. Their father, Rupert McGinnis, and uncle, William Warnock, opened the business on May 29, 1959. The Frostop was run by McGinnis until his death in 1980 and then taken over by his wife until her death in 1996. The sisters took over ownership of the business at that time. They said they have learned quite a bit of the business from the employees - three of them have been with Frostop for over 25 years!

Co-Owners Marilyn Murdock & Bing Murphy

The Frostop building has remained true to its original design. The mug on the roof even still turns!

Close up picture of mug on the roof

The Huntington Frostop serves many items typically found at drive-in restaurants. Burgers, BBQ pork sandwich, fried fish sandwich, french fries, onion rings, ice cream, shakes, and sundaes. The two signature items would be their root beer and hot dogs. The root beer is still served in a frosty mug as it should be. Huntington, WV is known for its Hot Dog Festival the Huntington Frostop is part of that hot dog tradition. The Frostop even sponsors the root beer chugging contest.

http://http//wvhotdogfestival.com/pages/rootbeer.html The Huntington Frostop celebrated its 50th anniversary on Saturday May 30, 2009 with a car show and anniversary cake.

50th Anniversary Cake

To see the great videos from the anniversary click the link below.

www.youtube.com/frostopdrivein

Their Facebook group page:

I Love Frostop Drive-In In Huntington West Virginia

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=49979608894&ref=ts

Pictures courtesy of the I Love Frostop Drive-In In Huntington West Virginia Facebook group page. I would also like to thank Marilyn Murdock for her help with information for this article.

The LaPlace Frostop would like to congratulate the Huntington Frostop on its 51st anniversary on May 29, 2010. It is great to so another Frostop that has stood the test of time. Hope you keep your mug turning for many more years to come!

The Frostop in Huntington, WV is located at:

1449 Hal Greer Blvd.

Huntington, WV 25701-4113

Phone: 304-523-6851