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GOOD EATS: Huntington landmark Midway Drive-In West reopens

June 18, 2008 @ 10:47 PM

PAUL SEBERT

Herald-Dispatch.com

The Huntington area is known for its many mom-and-pop drive-in restaurants, from Stewart’s to Frostop to Farley’s.

One of the oldest in town was the Midway Drive-In West. First opened in 1939, it served a dedicated group of customers for many years until tax problems caused the venerable restaurant to close in 2006.

Now under the stewardship of new owners Cory Hutchinson and Bill Ghiz, the Midway is looking to make a comeback.

The restaurant reopened on Wednesday evening, June 11, drawing great crowds. There were literally more cars arriving than the lot surrounding the restaurant could hold.

“People have been eating hot dogs here since they were added to the menu in 1945,” said co-owner Cory Hutchinson. “I think that one of the things that sets us apart from the other hot dog joints in town is the chili sauce, which we make in-house. It takes about six hours per batch. A lot of love goes into our sauce, and it’s a flavor that people love.We also make our coleslaw from scratch. We also do fresh hamburgers and cheeseburgers. We grind our all meat here, so it’s the freshest you can find.”

The signature sandwich is a burger called The Midway Special, featuring two all-beef patties, a slice of cheese, three buns with lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise and pickles.

Other popular items include barbecue sandwiches (in both beef and pork varieties) and milk shakes, which come in 10 different flavors.

While the recipes at Midway may prove to be timeless, some headaches have been involved in refurbishing and reopening the Drive-In. A new bar-top was added, as well as a new tile floor. New appliances were purchased for the kitchen, and a new flat-screen television was added behind the bar. Back taxes also had to be paid off before the restaurant could be reopened.

After a highly successful opening day of business, day two proved to be problematic when a power line went out at the restaurant, prompting the fire department to respond. Around 4:30 on Monday afternoon, the main electrical breaker went out at the restaurant, forcing the place to close until Wednesday as repairs were made.

But thanks to the help of a local vendor, the new restaurant suffered minimal losses in Monday’s outage.

“We get a lot of our meat products from Logan’s packing company, and Buddy Logan has been a tremendous supporter of us,” Hutchinson said. “Monday after we had the power outage, he had a refrigerated truck down here in 10 minutes to take all of our perishables out of our cooler. He left the truck all night until we got our power back.
“That’s the kind of support we’re getting,” Hutchinson said. “The support has been unreal. We’re excited to see everyone. It’s been a lot of work, and we’re working as hard as we can.”

Despite the early setbacks, Hutchinson and Ghiz are plowing forward, hoping their food quality and service will keep customers coming back for more.

“One of our philosophies here is that everything is always fresh, not frozen. Everything is made from scratch. We want to emphasize our customer service and do anything we can to make them happy,” Hutchinson said. “I want to tell our customers to hang in there, as we’ve got a lot of new employees and we are working out the kinks. We’re trying to take care of everyone.”

In coming months, Hutchinson hopes to continue to improve service at the drive-in as well as offer healthier options like grilled chicken and salads.

The Midway Drive-In is currently open from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday. It is closed on Sundays. Cash, debit card, and all major credit cards are accepted. For more information call 304-697-3644.

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Reviews

Paul Sebert/For The Herald-Dispatch

Midway Drive-In West recently reopened under new ownership. The Huntington favorite had closed following tax trouble, but is now back in business with an updated building and new menu items, along with old favorites.

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Paul Sebert/For The Herald-Dispatch

New co-owners Cory Hutchinson and Bill Ghiz recently re-opened the Huntington landmark the Midway Drive-In West, offering signature hot dogs and sauce, fresh hamburgers and more.

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Paul Sebert/For The Herald-Dispatch

Midway Drive-In West is back in business.

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