Akron Galley Boys

The Akron RubberDucks and Swensons Drive-In Restaurants announce a partnership for the Akron Galley Boys nights on Friday, June 27 and Saturday, June 28.

The term Galley Boys refers to the iconic hamburger cooks who worked in small galley kitchens (similar to what might be found on ships) to feed Akron and much of Northeast Ohio for more than 90 years.

Drive-in restaurants were a big part of Akron’s fast food boom in the late 1940s through the 1980s. During this time period drive-in restaurants like Swenson’s, Skyway and Dilly’s started in Akron and expanded their locations across Ohio. These restaurants have unique narrow shaped designs and sell their delicious food offerings to patrons who drive into the parking lots and receive their meals from “car hops” that sprint from car to car. The food at these drive-ins is made by cooks affectionately known as galley boys because of the galley style kitchen they work in. Swenson’s even honored these cooks by naming one of their signature menu items after them.