Please let us know (if you know) when the switch is going to be, so we can get one last burger there. Makes me sad, as I love the place as it is, games in the cupboard, local teens serving, and wonderful burgers.

Asi es la vida. any word on the scrubbed soul-less "new" Gold Nugget on Excelsior.

We just got back from a vacation at Walt Disney World to find out about Schussler is taking over the Drive In, and we are excited! His Yak & Yeti restaurant in Disney was delicious and the décor was just gorgeous. We can’t wait to see what he does on Highway 7.

It's exciting news that Schussler is looking at another resturant close to home! He has proven that he brings excitment, ambiance and great food to the area and we're glad he's at it again. I'm sure the "tired" food venue will get a fabulous make over! Let me know when it's ready!

I grew up with Wagners and look forward to sharing it with my kids. Until now we stayed away because waiting an hour wasn't an option even with games to entertain. I'm glad its still local and our family will be there when he opens the new neighborhood version.

In this economy we should be thanking people like Schussler for buying a business and making it even better. The burgers aren't even on the grill yet and we have people automatically assuming they won't be good. Shame on you Adam. I personally applaud Steve and I have eaten at many of his restaurants like the asian one at Disney which is excellent. Get your facts straight.

Wow. Holy Schussler spam. Somebody at HQ needs a little more to do.

Mr. Platt you hit the nail squarely and not much more needs to be said. Rainforest Cafe is an abomination for food and six year olds truly don't care about that. Their parents, however, probably should.

Can't wait for the next round of spam! Maybe a discourse on the health benefits of frozen vegetables?

I wonder if the grass @ Wagner's will be replaced with astro-turf

Amazing....I'm always fascinated by "journalists" who use a person's name as a perjorative.

Perhaps, Senor Platt, just razing the restaurant and killing all the employees before the sacred past could be improved upon would be in order.... You know, kind of like sacrificing virgins in the volcano.

Get real. The guy is obviously a success because people want the product. Sounds like, if you actually read the whole article at the Strib, he plans on keeping the best, improving the rest. I know that's mighty close to heresy.

Hey, I'm always a little saddened when one of my favorite dives "goes upscale" but it's life. The Original Coney Island isn't serving anymore, Shakeys hasn't burned a pie in the cities in years. Does that mean the rest of us cannot enjoy chili dogs or pizza anymore? It means that now we go to Punch or one of the Vienna franchises around the cities.

But, again, I have tread on sacred journalistic ground. Please allow me to commit seppuku before I defile Al's in Dinkeytown.

Why not wait and see if the man does what he says. If he doesn't, then lambast him. In the meantime, perhaps you should pick up your collection of memories from the dustbins you lament so loudly and spruce them up. Just like Schussler intends to do.

"The guy is obviously a success because people want the product."

That doesn't mean the product is any good, does it? The success of dismal chain restaurants (Schussler's included) proves that the public can, at times, lack taste.

I've been to Wagner's for lunch recently and seen Schussler walking around the drive in with various plans and contractors, getting ready for the makeover. While it's possible that it will still serve quality food even with all the kitsch that he's bound to bring, his past record suggests otherwise. As for the person who complains about current wait times, how busy do you think this place will be after it's turned into a Jetsons-style eyesore and the local mouth-breathers are lining up like they do at Sonic?

No matter what happens, it won't be Wagner's anymore. You may feel that Adam Platt comes of as a cranky old git complaining about change. I think he's just eulogizing a restaurant we'll all miss when it's finished being improved.

Dear Adam,

Very surprised that you wrote an opinion about Wagner’s Drive In based on a very nice piece written by Star Tribune columnist Rick Nelson. It would seem to us that journalistic fairness would suggest you would call Steven Schussler and his creative team at Schussler Creative and ask what their plans are rather than take encouraging words from another journalist’s professional observations. It is pure journalistic irresponsibility to assume our intentions are anything less than keeping Wagner’s a cute family restaurant icon. We encourage you to taste the food in our innovative laboratories and make the decision for yourself. In fact, we welcome your input and feedback on the food.

P.S. Schussler Creative is going to put hundreds of thousands of dollars into a local, faded icon that according to countless hours of extensive research, has not had any significant improvements to the parking lot, food equipment, décor, paint, lawn service, tables & chairs, etc. since 1951. We are shocked and disappointed that someone of your credibility and stature did not reach out to the Schussler Creative team to ask questions and thoroughly research this matter before writing this article. As a company that breathes creativity, ambition, passion and determination, we aim for nothing less than the best – and that includes the future look, feel and taste of the Drive In. We are proud to spearhead this project and feel that the Drive In will continue to offer the local community a delicious, fun dining experience that allows local teenagers mentorship and job development opportunities.

The proud staff of Schussler Creative

Steve Schussler loves St. Louis Park and has made it his home for over 30 years. His motivation to buy Wagner's Drive In is to keep the best elements like the "delicious hamburgers" and make very necessary and over- due repairs and improvements.

Look at the 7700 building across Highway 7 as an example. He took an eye sore of a building and turned it into a charming, well kept and lovely addition to St. Louis Park.

The investment of time, energy and money that Wagner's needs, can be better spent in other projects which clearly shows that this is a labor of love and not all about profit.

It is interesting how often the best of intentions can be so misinterpreted.

They always say...."You can never be famous in our hometown!" And some people make it difficult to even try to change things for the better! So, Mr. Schussler, please excuse those people who don't have the courage to try to make something better in their own backyard, but have all kinds of negative energy to whine about change!

Good Luck Steve, along with your Creative Team! I'm looking forward to eating at the Galaxy Drive Inn, and it sounds like my grandkids will love it!

Team Schussler: You want people to taste the food you make in your "innovative laboratories"? Is that where you think great food is made?
Thanks for proving the point. You just don't get it.

Platt, the link-baiting worked. You haven't had this many comments since, um, ever.

I regret bringing the topic of authenticity into this, because that's a slippery slope, as I indicated when I mentioned Parasole's restaurants. Fundamentally, this is about good food and bad food. Wagner's food tastes good. Rainforest Cafe's tastes bad. Not only does it taste bad but it manifests an indifference to food as more than fuel for shopping and theme-parking.

I wish Steve, who left me a phone message this morning that was not filled with expletives, all the luck in the world. Places like Disney and the MOA are built for restaurants like Rainforest. What I'm despairing is losing something that's good and lacking in artifice for something that will be mostly artifice where my expectation of the food, based on the Schussler track record, is logically and reasonably low. If Steve was building next door to Wagner's, I'd not have said a word.

You can hang me up for prejudging, but reputations are built on what we've done, not what our press releases say.

I am a Schussler Creative, Inc. team member. Yes, Mr. Platt, you prejudged. Did you know Steve Schussler sold Rainforest Cafe in 2000 and has had no part in that menu for 10 years? Have you eaten at the four restaurants we have developed since he sold Rainforest? And why did you compliment Steve on his lack of expletives - why the character smudge? What does that have to do, as you say, with good or bad food? Did you also see in your crystal ball if you jeopardized my job? Do you realize that your loose tongue casts shadows on my work? Or are you just having a little fun at Steve's expense?
The role of a critic is to inform the public about positives and negatives based on educated expertise and personal experience relating to the discipline. What you did is wrong. You are out of line and need to examine your professional standards.

Lange: "What you did is wrong."
Since when is it wrong for someone to express an opinion? "The role of a critic is to inform the public about positives and negatives based on educated expertise and personal experience relating to the discipline." Isn't that exactly what was done?

Agree or disagree, but wrong? I don't get that.

Seems like you just want to silence people.

Based on my first hand experience at T-Rex, I can honestly say that the experience and food that Schussler creative designs is by far one of the most incredible experiences I have ever encountered. The staff takes care of you, the environment is exciting and memorable and it's unlike anything you have ever seen. In your blog you state "Schussler’s plan is to turn Wagner’s, one of the last of the ramshackle, mom-and-pop suburban drive-ins, into Galaxy Drive Inn later in spring. He told the Strib’s Rick Nelson he planned to spiff it up, trick it out with a Jetsons vibe, expand the food offerings, and be open year-round. He thought it might become a national chain." So I ask you, what's wrong with creating a new model out of the old? I have complete faith that Schussler Creative will take into consideration the public and will make Wagners food even better and the atmosphere fun and exciting. I have faith in them based on my experiences with their concepts.

There's a clear divide in the dining world.

On one side you have foodies, or lifers. They crave authenticity. They value terroir, locavorism, organic produce, seasonality and letting the ingredients speak for themselves. They've read Orwell's "Down and Out in Paris and London" and appreciated the plight of the plongeur. They've worked in restaurants, they've emptied grease traps and peeled potatoes. They've foraged for mushrooms, they have tattered copies of The Joy of Cooking, they seek out stinky unpasteurized cheese, they pray at the altar of Chez Panisse. They scrape by in NYC, Portland, San Fran, Seattle, South Minny. They ride fixed-gear bikes to work. Entry in this club is sweat-equity only, and food-related tattoos are a plus.

On the other side, you have the rest of us. We work in professional fields. A night out at a nice restaurant is seen as an entertainment commodity, a dispassionate and hopefully pleasant way to while away a few hours, no different than seeing a newly released movie. We watch the Food network and think Rachel Ray is a chef, and that American haute cuisine began with Emeril and BAM. We subscribe to MSP magazine and couldn't find Chowhound.com with a map and a compass. We think the pinnacle of Minneapolis fine dining is having our steak slapped by a waiter in a lab coat. We drive import autos with booster seats. Entry in this club only requires a few hours every weekend and an AMEX.

Neither one is right, neither one is wrong. There's room for both at the table, and the wise proprietor knows how to appeal to both.

Is the Wagner's in St Louis Park owned by the same as the Wagner's in Brooklyn Park? They are both drive in's and serve almost the same food. And if so will the Wagner's in Brooklyn Park also be turned into a Galaxy Drive In? Which they have something very similar in Sedona AZ. That wasn't to appealing.

Adam,

I have been a friend of the Schussler Creative team for many years and there is more to the story than just a new drive in. They are up to big things.
A few weeks ago Schussler was in NY meeting with Food Network and rumor has it that he ran into Guy Fieri from Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. Is a TV show in the works for Schussler Creative? Lots of producers have been spotted coming in and out of the office including Dave Page (producer of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives), as well as Craig Rice, the former Director of the MN TV and Film Board.

The other reason Schussler was in NY was to meet with his publisher because a book is being written about him.

Why beat this guy up? Why all the negative stuff when he and his team contribute so much? Your blog is your opinion but what is your basis? Rainforest Café was sold 10 years ago. Have you visited the website (schusslercreative.com) to see what they are up to?

Keep an eye on this guy, you have not heard the last of him yet.

Geoff has a good point.

If Galaxy Drive-In is featured on a Guy Fieri episode, or Steve Schussler lands a show on the Food Network, then I think Adam has proven his point.

I don't want to go to a place someone's grandkids will love. Places earn kitsch and cachet, they don't manufacture it.

Ditto Donut.

We loved Wagners because we helped apply the patina, every time my kids dug their fingers into the old tables or swung their pudgy legs from the theater seats out front. Because the smiles they earned were from a wry nod to simple goodness, from inside, from true gratitude, not because we all shared a joke created by someone in an office.

Fine, singing monkeys and Jetson decor have their place in the world, in fact in increasingly more places than ramshackle frontage road joints that actually are joints. Creative Teams need not get so hostile, you will win. And people will love you. And you will make money.

And I may even like your food. But I will be sad all the same for what has passed. And you should respect that instead of firing up the PR cannons in your own honor.

To the Schussler Creative Cult...

How does the kool-aid taste?

Right on, Steph.

I don't drink the Kool-Aid but don't see the tragedy in a new and refreshing Friday night option that will offer minnesota beer-drinkin grease eaters an alternative to the billion diner-joints already in existence. Yay for the return of the Drive-In! Yay for a respectable solute to the old and welcoming back of a long-lost American Tradition of back seat necking, jam-packed hoopties, and some quality family time with no talking allowed. Love it.

Actually, Mr. Platt, I think your comments about authenticity are entirely valid.

For me, anyway--and I suspect, other fans of Wagner's--the thing that's most alarming about Mr. Schussler's plans has little to do with the quality of the food and nearly everything to do with his apparent belief that life's better in a theme park world, and that the best way to improve something is to make it into a phony, exaggerated-beyond-recognition version of itself.

Personally, I have no problems with Rainforest Cafe--it's not really intended to be a stand-in for the real rain forest.

But I do find faux-retro re-creations troubling. Why not just spruce the place up? Why make it a camp version of itself, one completely whitewashed of its sense of place, sense of history, and sense of community? You can't contrive those things, no matter how hard you try. The new version will be financially successful, no doubt, but will it serve the same role as de facto community center? Not likely.

To paraphrase the old song, the only thing more depressing than paving paradise and putting up a parking lot is paving paradise and putting up a paradise replica.

Don't know what you've got 'til it's gone. . . .

Geoff, you're my new hero.

Steph, your statement, to me, is profound. I grew up riding my bike to Wagner's on crisp summer nights with my folks and wish I could do the same with my son.

Alita, there isn't any "tragedy in a new and refreshing Friday night option"--as long as it is actually new and refreshing. Key word: new.

Why is tradition such an unthinkable option to so many people???

Thank you for your opinion, Mr. Platt. You'd be surprised at how many people completely agree with it.

Wow What commments! Speaking as the original family i'm happy that the name is changing but at the same time sad that he is changing a local landmark. I am sure that this will be something of interest. I wonder about the city changing it's mind about what can be done with the bulding and land. I left the location and sold it continuing under the Wagner name because of non-conforming statutes. I have another location in Brooklyn Park.Steve must have a special relationship with someone. I still feel that I create the best food and Business showa it. Even though Sonics came to town I still have a booming business and the greatest and most loyal customers. THANK YOU !!! Galaxy is not going affect me much.

Adam,
I was very pleased to read your blog update, giving Steve Schussler credit for not only being a great guy, but also for giving him credit for what he is doing with Galaxy Drive In.

Prior to reading your blog update, I was upset that you were questioning Steve’s intentions to serve the highest quality food humanly possible. Plus, he has not been involved with Rainforest Café for over 10 years, and that includes the current menu at Rainforest.

I understand that Mr. Schussler plans on bringing back the original recipes and great quality food that Wagner's was known for when both you, Mr. Platt, and Mr. Andrew Zimmern voted Wagner’s as having the “Best Burger" in MPLS/St. Paul Magazine. Did you know that the products used then – e.g. meat, bread, pickles, cheese, bacon and the method of cooking – haven’t been used at Wagner’s for three years? The building’s appearance has been complained about, and it is widely known that there is room for significant improvement in food taste and quality. As a matter of fact, I understand that the current owners, Jayne and Alan Wohl, will even be employed by Mr. Schussler and will go through new training and play an active role on the Galaxy Drive In team.

So thanks for adding the update because I felt it was absolutely inaccurate for you and your readers to believe that Mr. Schussler doesn't intend to have the best quality food. To attack a place when you have zero knowledge about it was not good and misleading to your readers. The information in your article was based on opinion, not fact. I encourage you to check out Schussler’s T-REX Restaurant and his Yak & Yeti Restaurant. Not to mention Dog Hall of Fame and Betty & Joe's Baker and Coffee Maker. Sometime you should also interview the staff that works for Mr. Schussler. A fair-minded, responsible journalist does research and makes sure their points are accurate before putting them in print.

Galaxy Drive In will continue to be a beautiful, neighborhood place to have a great meal with friends, family and four-legged friends. I recently became aware of the list below, which includes some of the changes that I understand will be coming to Galaxy Drive In, the former Wagner's Drive In. I called Steve to ask him about the accusations made in the Mpls/St. Paul blogs, and he gladly provided me with the following info. If you would have asked him or anyone on his team, you could have gotten this info yourself. So here you go:

Year-round dining
• All new restaurant equipment
• Root beer floats from original A&W root beer formula
• Chocolate and vanilla soft serve
• New POS (Point of Sale) system making it more efficient to ring up sales and deliver checks
• New uniforms, including hats and shirts
• Two pooch posts, a place for guests to tether their dogs
• Two doggie stations for waste disposal
• Two water fountains just for dogs
• Free ice cream cones for dogs
• New, easy-to-remember phone number
• A fax line for additional food order placements
• Web site with events and new information
• New and manicured landscaping, flowers and plants
• Brand new roof
• Brand new signage
• New fence around the perimeter
• Brand new bike rack that holds nine bikes
• Skateboard and scooter rack
• New, paved parking lot with lines designating where to park
• Parking lot lights
• Drive in parking spot bumpers
• Every carhop will have a silver old-fashioned manual coin changer
• Giant lawn chess set
• Decorative water fountains
• New, heavy duty board games
• Blankets on all tables and chairs for people to use to extend the outdoor dining season
• Every table will have umbrellas blocking the sun
• Counter seating
• Multiple tables of four, which can be pushed together to accommodate groups of all sizes
• Two antique juke boxes and 26 pedal cars artfully displayed under the roof of the carports
• Architectural lighting to complement the décor and light the never before lit parking lot
• Men’s and women’s handicap-accessible restrooms – none presently exist
• Two handicap-accessible tables - none presently exist
• A menu for dogs only (e.g. dog bones, treats, special hamburger)
• A bronze statue of a dog named Bozley – cute and friendly, park-like public art
• Six 33-gallon handsomely decorated garbage cans
• Area that conceals garbage dumpsters

These changes don’t sound harmful in any way. I truly believe they will bring this local landmark back to life. The neighborhood will continue to enjoy the once award-winning delicious burgers, play board games and spend quality time with their friends and families.

Also, I have included an amazing report about the history of Wagner’s Drive In. This information should be published with the Minnesota Historical Society! The report was compiled by a woman named Alise Hofstad-Parkill and given to Jane Wohl in 2003, as a gift of the proud history of this neighborhood joint.

WAGNER’S HISTORY:
R.M. Roles built the structure, which is currently Wagner's Drive-In in 1951 (permit No. 9631). It was constructed on 3712 Quebec Ave. at the intersection of Hwy 7 and Quebec Ave. {though at the time Hwy 7 was just a gravel road} Mr. Roles has a permit dated June 20, 1951 to build a building called Dairy Mor costing $3,500 to construct.

Across Quebec Ave., at the time Dairy Mor was built, was once a corner market called Cooks Superette, containing two gas pumps. The same building is still standing today as a blue house.

Eventually Mr. Roles sold the Dairy Mor to Bud and Jean Rodberg. They then changed its name to Buds Big Boy. Bud and Jean later changed to name to Oak Hill Drive-In, in 1956 (Permit No. 319).

At that time the menu was also different. A burger would cost 20 cents, a hot dog 10 cents, French fries, 10 cents, and pop 5 cents.

Now days a burger would cost $2.09 for a single and a double would cost $3.59, a hot dog would cost $1.49 a small French fry basket would cost $1.25 and a jumbo French fry basket would cost $2.00, pop costs 85 cents for a small and a large is $1.40. They even charge 25 cents for water.

Mr. Rodberg, who also happened to be a schoolteacher, died in 1960. His wife then sold the building to Dick Gapinski and Don Schlacter in 1961; the permit (No. 179) indicates they built the steel awning covering the parking and picnic area. In 1963 they sold Oak Hill Drive-In to Pete Rodes. Pete kept it until 1975 when he sold it to Ed and Ahnalise Wagner. The Wagner's afterward changed the name to Wagner's Drive-In, and also expanded the menu. For example they added chicken and roast beef. {Roast beef is not currently on the menu today}. They also added 30ft setback of grass to the property (see letter April 8, 1975).

Yet after 22 years they had to sell Wagner's Drive-In because their son needed a kidney transplant and the sale would pay the bills. Food brokers Bob Keening and Curt bought Wagner's from THE Wagner's in about 1999. In 2001 they sold it to Jayne and AI Wohl, which are the current owners. By 2003, the Wohl's had increased the quality of Wagner's food to where it was acknowledged by the Mpls St Paul Magazine as the number one burger in the Twin Cities.

So to sum it up, when posting information, please speak with someone about it prior to releasing the information. This is the basic practice and standard of journalism. I know Mr. Schussler would be happy to speak with you at any time, as well as introduce you first hand to the new Galaxy Drive In.

Paul ... this is a blog, not an article. Yes, it was his opinion, to which he has every right. As far as your list and your opinion that "these changes don't sound harmful in any way", you have every right to believe that too. Just as I believe that lawn chess, decorative fountains, and bronze statues of a dog named Bozely are VERY HARMFUL. Opinion, isn't it great?

I have noticed demolition has started on the old Wagner's as of today May 1st, 2009