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Owners of Classic American Cars Meet, Eat at Fast Eddie's

August 26, 2008 - WINTHROP — Hybrids may represent the future of the auto industry, but the Toyota Prius parked at Fast Eddie's Drive-in restaurant last week was as out of place as a pair of tasseled shoes at a construction site.

At Fast Eddie's, where Americana is always on tap, Wednesday nights are devoted to classic cars and their growling engines, glittering chrome and U.S. steel.

"It's just getting together with a bunch of friends and doing a burnout when you leave," said David Desjardins of Jay, while standing in front of his 1969 Chevy Nova.

"We're a bunch of car nuts," said John Currie of Augusta, alongside his 1963 Nova.

The weekly cruise-in to Fast Eddie's on Route 202 attracts dozens of car owners whose rides represent decades of the American auto industry, from a 1929 Model A Ford to a 1997 Corvette that, while relatively new, is still cool enough to hang with this crowd.

Many of the car owners who converge each week have been coming since Ed Collins opened the place 10 years ago.

"Ed has always been a car buff," said Russ Angell, who, with his wife, Barbara Angell, reopened Fast Eddie's this spring after a three-year hiatus. "He and his friends just started coming in on Wednesdays."

Not only was it a lot of fun, but it was good business, Russ Angell said. The cruise-in helps draw a crowd during the middle of the week, typically the restaurant's slowest period.

The classic cars also add to the nostalgia that is a Fast Eddie's staple.

Waitresses, most often decked out in tight, low-cut tops and poodle skirts, hang trays of hamburgers, fries and Cokes off windows of cars parked at several spaces. Music from the '50s and '60s usually blares from speakers attached to poles in front of the spaces. The speakers, which look like they came from an old drive-in movie theater, can be hung on car windows.

"The waitresses love it," Angell said. "It's not like a normal restaurant. They fight over who will be able to be the outside girl."

For those who choose to go inside, there is a diner with stools. For those who would rather sit at a table, there are several options in an adjacent room.

The Angells, who have decades of experience running ice cream counters in the Lewiston-Auburn area, are leasing the building and are in the process of buying it. "My wife fell in love with this place," Russ Angell said.

When the doors opened in the spring, the classic cars began to return every Wednesday night. The drivers mill about, catching up on the week. Most of them are there every Wednesday.

"It's nice to meet people," said Alton Hartung of Manchester, standing in front of his 1929 Model A Ford.

Hartung, who said he was born the same year as the car, used it to help win over his wife of 59 years, Alice.

"I've had it for 64 years," Hartung said.

The cruise-in is held at the same time as Columbia Classic Car's Cruise Night just down the street. Every time an old car comes into view, folks at Fast Eddie's stop to see who it is – everyone, it seems, is instantly recognizable by the car – and where they are headed.

"There's a cruise night every night of the week," Desjardins said.

This week's cruise-in at Fast Eddie's will have even more to offer. The Short Bus Refugees, a local band that plays blues and Southern and classic rock, will provide the entertainment beginning at 6:30 p.m.

The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, and though it will close for the winter at some point, the Angells have not yet decided when.

For now, they are trying to spread the word about their restaurant's unique experience.

By CRAIG CROSBY, Blethen Maine News Service, August 26, 2008


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