Swensons Drive-In is an Ohio-based drive-in restaurant chain offering a broad menu of burgers ("burgs"), sandwiches, crispy sides and customizable beverages across the Akron, Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati regions. The chain's signature menu item is the Galley Boy, a double cheeseburger served with two proprietary sauces — Swen Red & Swen White.[1][2] Swensons also serves a variety of Crispy Extras, including the cult-favorite Potato Teezers — bite-sized crispy potato snacks filled with cheese and mild jalapeño — along with chicken sandwiches, specialty burgers, hot dogs, and combo meals. Its extensive beverage menu includes endless combinations of hand-spun milkshakes,[1] and Whips, the brand's soft-serve-spin on a dirty soda, contributing to the chain's reputation for customizable, made to order offerings.
Wesley T. "Pop" Swenson began selling hamburgers from a station wagon at Buchtel High School in 1933. In 1934, he opened the first Swensons restaurant on South Hawkins Avenue in Akron, Ohio, near West Market Street, establishing the carhop-style service model. Swenson sold the business in 1949 to Robert Phillips, who oversaw the chain’s early growth, beginning with a second location on East Cuyahoga Falls Avenue in North Akron in 1952.
Mid-20th Century Growth
Through the late 20th century, Swensons expanded across Northeast Ohio while maintaining its traditional curbside-service model, with “Curb Servers,” delivering orders directly to guests’ vehicles at full sprint. The menu grew to include fried sides, milkshakes, and the Galley Boy, which became the brand’s signature item.
Regional Expansion and modernization (2010s–2020s)
In the 2010s and 2020s, Swensons entered a period of accelerated growth, expanding into the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, and Youngstown metropolitan areas. During this period, the company incorporated digital ordering for pickup and delivery, alongside new service formats such as a digital walk-up kitchen (2021) and mobile food trucks.
Current Era (2024–present)
In 2024, Dan Mesches was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Swensons Drive-Ins, bringing prior leadership experience from national restaurant and hospitality brands, including his tenure as President and CEO of Sprinkles Cupcakes[3] and his previous role as President and CEO of HopDoddy Burger Bar. Under Mesches' leadership, the company has continued its regional expansion efforts while advancing operational modernization, enhancing digital and off-premise capabilities, and formalizing partnerships with major professional sports organizations, including the Cleveland Cavaliers and Columbus Crew. These collaborations led to the launch of Swensons concession locations at Lower.com Field (2025) and Rocket Arena (2025).[4]
As of 2025, Swensons operates 24 locations, comprising 20 drive-in stands, one digital walk-up kitchen, three concession stands, and two food trucks.
Locations
The following table summarizes Swensons Drive-In locations and their years of opening:
NBA player and Akron native LeBron James[8] is among the most prominent public advocates of Swensons Drive-In, having praised the chain on multiple occasions. James has noted in interviews and social-media posts that Swensons is one of the hometown foods he misses most when away from Ohio, frequently citing the Galley Boy as a personal favorite.
Swensons is also associated with members of the Black Keys, particularly drummer Patrick Carney[9], who has repeatedly described the drive-in as a defining part of his Akron upbringing. In 2025, Swensons expanded its visibility among the band’s fanbase through a concert activation at Blossom Music Center, where the band tossed signature Galley Boys off the stage into the crowd, further strengthening its ties to the local music community.
Actor Matt Lanter[10] has similarly referenced Swensons as a must-visit stop when returning to Ohio. Additional public figures—including Cleveland Cavaliers players, local musicians, and regional media personalities — have highlighted Swensons in interviews, reviews, and nostalgia-focused features, contributing to its cultural presence across Northeast Ohio.
Online Rankings and Digital Media
In 2025, online personality Sir Yacht launched a burger-ranking project titled “I Ate 20 of the Best Fast-Food Burgers to See Which One is the Best.” Over the course of roughly two weeks, Sir Yacht visited 20 prominent fast-food chains across the U.S., assigning each burger a numerical score out of 100 based on eight criteria: bun quality, patty seasoning, sauce/application, texture contrast, value, consistency, side pairing, and overall experience.[11] In his final rankings video, Sir Yacht placed Swensons’ Galley Boy at #1 nationwide, citing its dual‐sauce system, rich flavor profile, and nostalgic drive-in presentation as key differentiators. The top 5 best fast food burgers in the country. He noted that the inclusion of both Swen Red and Swen White sauces delivered a layered flavor dynamic seldom found in standard fast-food burger offerings, and praised the “crispy, hot-off-the-grill” patty and soft buttered bun as delivering premium impression at a fast-food price point.[12] This ranking significantly increased Swensons’ visibility among national audiences, particularly younger consumers and social-media–oriented food reviewers.
National Collaborations
In March 2025, Swensons entered into a collaboration with Hamburger America, the New York City restaurant founded by filmmaker, historian, and author George Motz, known for documenting classic American burger institutions. The partnership highlighted Swensons’ 1930s origins, its preservation of car-hop service, and the distinctive dual-sauce profile of the Galley Boy. As part of the collaboration, Hamburger America featured the Galley Boy on its New York City menu, introducing the dish to a national audience and contributing to renewed interest in historic regional burger styles.
Sports Partnerships
In 2025, Swensons Drive-In launched multi-year partnerships with two major Ohio professional sports franchises—the Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA and the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer. Both agreements were established as three-year collaborations designed to integrate the brand into each team’s game-day and community programming. With the Cleveland Cavaliers, the partnership includes the introduction of two Swensons concession stands inside Rocket Arena, promotional activations such as the “Miss Two for Teezers” in-game trigger offer, and community initiatives involving team personnel. The Columbus Crew partnership features a Swensons concession stand at Lower.com Field, digital and in-stadium media integration, and collaborative fan-engagement efforts throughout the MLS season. The agreement also includes regional community outreach programs aligned with both organizations’ philanthropic commitments.
Media Attention
Forbes noted Swensons as "America's Best Burger" in 1999.[13]
Reader's Digest noted Swensons as "Best Burger in Ohio" in 2022, 2024 and 2025.[14]
Eat This, Not That highlighted Swensons as one of the "Top 5 Best Burgers in America" according to Midwesterners.[15]
On an episode of The Food Network's series Food Feuds entitled Beef Feuds, Swensons was pitted against the Skyway drive-in in the Akron suburb of Fairlawn for best double cheeseburger in the Akron area.[16]
Company profile
Swensons Drive-In is a privately held regional restaurant chain headquartered in Akron, Ohio. The company operates a network of drive-in restaurants across the state, offering a combination of carhop service, digital walk-up ordering, and concession operations in select sports venues. Founded in 1934, the brand has maintained an emphasis on classic drive-in service, made-to-order burgers, and a menu centered around customizable milkshakes, proprietary sauces, and fried side items.
Swensons is known for its signature double cheeseburger, the Galley Boy, along with its use of curb service delivered by runners—known as “Curb Servers”—who bring orders directly to guests’ vehicles. The company continues to expand within Ohio through both suburban stand-alone drive-in formats and partnerships with major sports facilities.
As of 2025, Swensons operates 20 drive-in restaurants, a digital walk-up kitchen concept, two food trucks, and three concession stands. All restaurants are company-owned, and the chain does not operate under a franchise model.
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