by Richard D. L. Fulton
The Distelfink Drive-In
The Distelfink Drive-in, which had been located at the intersection of Old Harrisburg Road and Shrivers Corner Road, just off Route 15 in Straban Township, near Gettysburg, thrived as basically a “roadside attraction” in the food category from 1954 until 2011.
Distelfink takes its name from the Pennsylvania Dutch for a finch, a symbol of good luck.
The Distelfink Drive-in was established in 1954, by Cecil D. Sandoe of Biglerville, who was only 21 years old at the time, according to the March 9, 2018, edition of The Evening Sun (eveningsun.com).
Sandoe was born “at home” on November 25, 1933, to David E. and Virginia (Mary) Sandoe. He graduated from the Biglerville High School in 1952, where he had been active in football, basketball, and track.
After graduating, Sandoe began his entrepreneurial career when he opened a small fruit market at the corner of Route 15 and Route 394, according to his obituary.
Sandoe was subsequently drafted into the Army on February 8, 1954, and served as a battalion mail clerk in the 254th field artillery during the Korean War, during which he was stationed in Germany. In his absence, his parents continued to operate his fruit stand.
After being discharged from the Army in 1956, Sandoe returned home and established Sandoe’s initially as a “farm market and a soft ice cream stand, with a variety of homemade sandwiches,” according to his obituary.
The Gettysburg Times had reported in a story published on January 20, 2004, that Sandoe’s parents “mortgaged their home for collateral to build and equip the restaurant.”
The Distelfink Drive-in soon expanded its offerings to include home-cooked Dutch-baked ham and beef, ham and pork barbecue, pretzels, donuts, breads, rolls, pastries, cookies, and cakes.
In 1955, Sandoe hired his next-door neighbor, 15-year-old Patty Reinecker, who worked at Distelfink while she was in high school until she graduated and attended nursing school.
In December 1962, Sandoe and Reinecker married.
Together, the duo owned and operated the Distelfink Drive-in until they decided to sell the eatery in 1979, after Sandoe had sustained a heart attack, according to The Evening Sun (eveningsun.com).
The Evening Sun noted that among the Distelfink Drive-in’s regular clientele was Mamie Eisenhower, wife of Dwight D. Eisenhower, “to purchase her husband’s favorite bakery items, sticky buns, cream puffs, and twists with granulated sugar.”
During the years that the Sandoes operated the Distelfink, they had employed some 40 employees, with at least 12 employees on duty at any given time, according to The Gettysburg Times, who further noted that, typically, on Sundays, Distelfink’s staff “would make 33 gallons of donut (dough),” which produced “36 dozen (of donuts) to a gallon.”
In addition, The Gettysburg Times stated that Distelfink employees would sell as many as 5,000 soft pretzels on a Sunday.
Cecil Sandoe passed away on May 17, 2023, according to his obituary, which further stated he was survived by Patricia Sandoe, his wife of 60 years, and his two sons, David C. Sandoe and Mark E. Sandoe.
He was interred in a private Interment, with military honors provided by Adams County Allied Veterans, in the Biglerville Cemetery.
Several entrepreneurs purchased the Distelfink Drive-in succession after the Sandoes sold the operation. But, today, the vacant eatery and its signage still stand at the intersection of Old Harrisburg Road and Shrivers Corner Road, after the last purchaser had closed the operation’s doors sometime between 2011 and 2012.
An effort was even made in the early 1980s to launch several spin-off Distelfinks, including one in Gettysburg, by the initial purchasers of the original Sandoes’ Distelfink.
In 2004, the 1.83-acre property, and the old Distelfink structures located on it, was listed at $450,000.
As late as 2023, there were rumors of renewed interest in revitalizing the old Distelfink in one form or another. However, to date, nothing has yet materialized in the way of any proposed progress.
The old sign of the Distelfink; Source: Library of Congress; Carol M. Highsmith, photographer.
