Patricia TaloricoDelaware News Journal
One of the quirkiest restaurants in Delaware, and perhaps the United States, was a memorable example of 1950s American roadside architecture.
The Chuck Wagon, another time, another place family-friendly restaurant, was once parked off Kirkwood Highway and Farrand Drive in Milltown.
It first said "howdy, partner" to customers in 1956, the same year as the opening of old-school, still operating Delaware food businesses, The Charcoal Pit on Concord Pike in Brandywine Hundred, and Dairy Palace off Basin Road and Jay Drive in New Castle.
The Chuck Wagon was built during an era when Americans still pledged allegiance to singing cowboys like Gene Autry and Roy Rodgers and celebrated cowgirls such as popular Philadelphia TV personality Sally Starr.
The kitschy restaurant was shaped like a Conestoga wagon, had a coffee pot front door, and spoked wagon wheel windows. Customers could dine in the Frontier Room and wet their whistle in the ’49er co*cktail Lounge.
The Western motif included deer heads on the paneled walls and wagon wheel lights. Few at that time gave a thought to vegan diets or no-carb lifestyles. Here, the portions, especially the prime rib and baked potatoes, were ample. Birthday cakes came to tables with lighted sparklers.
For a time, the restaurant had drive-in service and a curbside menu that offered chili con carne, grilled cheese sandwiches, char-broiled cheeseburgers, and hot dogs.
Still, time took its toll on the business, and by its 31st birthday, the aging Chuck Wagon had lost its appeal with diners, especially those seeking more modern decor and offerings.
A wrecking crew reduced the Chuck Wagon building to rubble 17 years ago. An Applebee's Grill & Bar stands at the site today.
When the Chuck Wagon first rolled in
Ralph Gordy Jr., whose father built Chuck Wagon, told The News Journal in 2007 when his dad Ralph Sr. first created the suburban restaurant "a lot of people told him he was crazy. People said, 'They'll never come this far out of Wilmington to go to a restaurant.'"
He proved the city slickers wrong.
The idea for the Conestoga wagon had no special significance Gordy told The News Journal; it was chosen to attract attention and the construction was easy.
The novelty of dining inside and outside a covered wagon was hard to resist. During the drive-in period in the 1950s and '60s, customers were "the college crowd," Gordy said, and as the drive-in craze died down, more dining rooms were built.
Chuck Wagon became an informal meeting spot for friends and families, people celebrating special occasions, Rotarians, and service organizations like local Lions Clubs. At its height, it had 350 seats.
But it wasn't all happy trails. A car smashed into the restaurant on opening day. There were several fires over the years.
And, not everyone was delighted by the Chuck Wagon's offbeat design, namely notoriously persnickety News Journal dining critic Otto Dekom. He seemed to have no appreciation for camp.
"The Kirkwood Highway is marked by many architectural monstrosities," Dekom wrote in 1976. "Not the least of them is the Chuck Wagon."
Yet, the critic noted the food was good (Dekom appreciated the salad bar) and wrote that the service was excellent.
By July 1987, the Chuck Wagon restaurant had a new owner who wanted to create a Southwestern-themed eatery. Plans were drawn up to cover the arched roof with a boxy wooden facade and rework the coffee pot front entrance. The wooden wheel windows would remain.
There was some outcry from the public and archaeology preservationists who argued the restaurant's distinguishing details should remain because the Chuck Wagon was built "for its commercial advantages; it was meant to stop traffic."
Chuck Wagon General Manager Frank DiMichele seemed ready for a makeover.
"A lot of people are in favor of it staying the way it is, but they're not coming in for dinner," he told The News Journal in 1987.
The building would house a short-lived restaurant named Remington's. It lasted a little more than a year. The final tenant was a branch of the old Italian Bistro chain of restaurants. Italian Bistro had a longer shelf life. It opened in 1995 and closed about a decade later.
By 2007, there was little nostalgia for the Chuck Wagon that permanently closed 20 years earlier.
When Applebee's submitted a redevelopment plan for the site and a demolition request, New Castle County planners said the building was no longer a significant historical structure and greenlighted the project.
Historic preservationists said the building had been remodeled so much, the original character was gone.
"Either inside or outside, there are no physical memories left of what the Chuck Wagon was," Gordy told The News Journal.
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The building was razed for the Applebee's, which, ironically, was remodeled in late 2023 and reopened with a new look this past January.
The building has bright dining areas with multiple seating options, including private booths; a modern contemporary design; and new exterior signage and artwork.
All that remains now of the Chuck Wagon is photos and dimming memories.
"Do you remember?" is an occasional News Journal/Delaware Online feature that looks at the history behind long-gone Delaware buildings, objects, businesses, and places.
This article includes information from The News Journal's archives. Patricia Talorico writes about food and restaurants. You can find her onInstagram, XandFacebook. Email ptalorico@delawareonline.com. Sign up for her Delaware Eats newsletter.
