The Hamilton favorite, which is known for footlong hotdogs and root beer floats, got its start on North Erie in 1937 when Vince Sr. and Betty Jolivette used a $1,000 loan to open an A&W root beer stand.
They chose Hamilton over Gary, Indiana because Betty liked that her father’s watch said “Hamilton,” even though it likely wasn’t made there, their son, Jolly’s Drive-In owner Greg Jolivette, previously told Journal-News.
Its long‑running model of being open seven days a week for 40 weeks a year has been in place since its early days, though it was open fewer weeks when it first started.
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