Our History
A little bit of Gordy's Hi Hat History . . . .
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Native Duluthians Gordy & Marilyn Lundquist built the first A & W Root Beer Stand in Eveleth, Minnesota in 1950. Car-Hops served customers frosted mugs of Root Beer brewed on the premises, and fresh, hand-pattied hamburgers on locally baked hamburger buns which had to be sliced by hand.
Those were the "good old days", where a family's entertainment was piling the family in the car and heading for a Frosty Mug of home-made Root Beer or great root beer floats. This was a seasonal business - open from Memorial Day through Labor Day.
In 1955, Gordy and Marilyn built the London Inn Drive Inn on London Road in Duluth. It was a popular gathering place for the Duluth High School students where they would drive in and sit on the hoods of their cars with radios blasting out Elvis or the Everly Brothers! You could get a hamburger, French fries & a shake for 57 cents!
The London Inn was so busy that the bakery would drive up the loaded bun truck and leave the whole load for us to work out of. The hamburgers were all pattied out by hand daily, and the French fries were peeled, sliced, & blanched fresh before frozen French fries were available.
In 1960, Gordy & Marilyn built Gordy's Hi-Hat in Cloquet, which has now passed its 50th season. Everything is done the same way - fresh hand-pattied hamburgers, home-made onion rings, fresh hand-dipped fish, and fresh blended shakes. Gordy and Marilyn, both in their 80's, are still active in the business. They live 6 months in Sarasota, Florida, and return every spring to the Hi-Hat for another season.
