King Tut Drive-In
King Tut Drive-In was a drive-in American and barbecue restaurant located on North Eisenhower Drive in Beckley, West Virginia.
| King Tut Drive-In | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Signage | |
| Restaurant information | |
| Established | 1945 |
| Closed | August 29, 2023 |
| Owner(s) | Dave McKay |
| Previous owner(s) | Tutweiller family (1945-1955) |
| Food type | American Barbecue |
| Street address | 301 N Eisenhower Drive |
| City | Beckley |
| County | Raleigh |
| State | West Virginia |
| Postal/ZIP Code | 25801 |
| Country | United States |
| Website | kingtutdrivein |
History and description
King Tut's Drive-In was established in 1945 by its namesake the Tutweiller family who transferred ownership of the restaurant to the family of current owner Dave McKay a decade later in 1955. McKay, who used to work at the restaurant making pizza for 25¢ an hour, operated the restaurant with his brother Jeff for a while until the latter moved to Maryland. The restaurant includes an awning over the parking area, a building that houses the kitchen and a large marquee at the front of the parking lot that serves as the menu. Typical of drive-in restaurants, the servers (called "curb girls" by McKay) fill orders and bring food out to the customer's cars.[1][2]
On September 25, 2020, the restaurant announced that it would be closing temporarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3] It re-opened almost 2 weeks later on October 8.[4]
On July 31, 2023, the owners of the restaurant announced that they are making plans to sell the restaurant and retire from service.[5][6]
King Tut Drive-In closed permanently on August 29, 2023.
Menu
The restaurant's menu is "large" and serves breakfast, lunch and dinner including hoagies, sandwiches, pot roast, chicken livers and swiss steak with their most popular items being the barbecue, hot dogs, specialty salads and pizza. Desert items include a root-beer float, milkshakes and three kinds of pie (apple, coconut and either chocolate or cherry cream).[7]
References
- Farrish, Jessica. "King Tut's leading the way". Register-Herald.com. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
- Smith, Ferrell. "King-Tut Drive-in serving curbside classics for 70 years". wvgazettemail.com. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
- Fritz, Douglas. "King Tut to close temporarily due to COVID-19". wvnstv.com. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
- Taylor, Jack. "King Tut Drive-In returns to normal business hours". wvnstv.com. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
- "Local drive-in restaurant looking to sell". WVNS. 2023-08-01. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
- Brooks, Mary Catherine (July 31, 2023). "King Tut owners in negotiations to sell". The Register-Herald. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
- Farrish, Jessica. "King Tut is uniquely Beckley". Register-Herald.com. Retrieved 19 May 2021.