From the top: The Dandy as it appeared in the 1960s, before acquiring its mascot; Joe Nako poses out front while Pauline appears in the window; the first Dandy advertisement – opening for business in 1957; the famous Dandy chicken, circa 1971.

For nearly thirty years, customers in St. Louis found tasty meals at the Dandy Drive-In. When it closed, many feared that the restaurant, a product of the 1950s drive-in experience, was gone forever. Although another well-known St. Louis landmark opened as Tony’s Restaurant, the spot was known as the Dandy to old-timers.

At one time, an old bicycle shop was said to be on the property, and several trees dotted the back of the lot. After a fire a few years ago, someone found the remains of an old foundation on the property, suggesting that the Dandy was not the first business at this location.

The Dandy officially opened for business on April 4, 1957, and owners Joe and Pauline Nako offered free root beer, ginger ale, and cokes to anyone who pulled in for curb service. The Nako’s full last name was Nakonieczny, and the couple first came to St. Louis to own and operate the Colony House in downtown St. Louis. The Colony House was a small restaurant on the north side of Washington Street (M-46) and sat between the Meteor Bar and two gas stations.

The Nakos were from Detroit. During World War II, Joe, born in 1917 in Detroit, served with Battery C, 420 CA (AA) in the Pacific and Aleutian Islands. Nako entered the service in October 1941 and was on active duty until May 1944. On August 17, 1945, Nako was discharged at Camp Sheridan. Pauline Nako was born in Detroit on April 8, 1915, and came from Lithuanian descent. Joe and Pauline married at Blessed Sacrament Church in Detroit in 1947 and soon came to St. Louis to start a business.

One of the complications in learning about the history of the Nakos and the Dandy was that they did not appear to have family members in the community. Also, the couple was notorious for keeping advertising at the Dandy to a minimum. Still, the Nakos started a tradition that continued even after the Dandy closed: word of mouth. This was the best source for reaching customers, and word of mouth in and around St. Louis worked well.

Joe and Pauline opened the Dandy on April 4, 1957, by offering customers free root beer, ginger ale, and cokes for whoever requested curb service. The Dandy closed on Mondays, but by the early 1960s, it had a tradition of being one of the few late-night places to eat and stayed open until midnight. The Dandy usually opened in March and closed at Christmas. The other three months were “off months” for the Nakos, and customers waited for the restaurant’s re-opening each spring.

Different decades leave different memories of what one could eat at the Dandy. The Nakos were known as family people, and many customers flocked there on Sundays for chicken dinners. The “Dandy Burger” was a giant hamburger with a special sauce that reminded some of today’s Big Mac. Pauline Nako soon had customers coming in to taste her wonderful pies. Several former employees remembered how Joe and Pauline operated the Dandy. While Joe maintained the kitchen, Pauline ran the front and was willing to train almost anyone to be a waitress. Joe had the reputation of being the fatherly owner who was known for having a listening ear to his workers. Pauline could be a bit stern at times. However, many knew Pauline also had a heart for her workers.

The Nakos created a well-known mascot in St. Louis when Joe purchased and placed “The Chicken” out front of the Dandy. The fiberglass chicken was a mainstay in St. Louis for decades – “Just look for the chicken” was the famous saying about how to find the Dandy. It is unclear where the Nakos got the chicken, but one story illustrates how well-known the bird was. In one instance, it was reported that a group of boys from a Saginaw high school made off with the fowl as a prank. Fortunately, Joe Nako was able to get the chicken back. This time, Joe cemented the chicken firmly into the ground so that it would never be able to fly away again.

Under the Nakos, the Dandy remained in business until the 1980s. Pauline Nako passed in 2001, and Joe did shortly after that. Both were buried in Oak Grove Cemetery in St. Louis. Before Joe sold the place to the Lagalos Brothers from Saginaw, stories indicate that the Dandy sat vacant for a few years until a new location to eat started with Tony’s Restaurant.

Copyright 2023 James M Goodspeed