Jumpin Jack’s Drive In Scotia NY – A Social Media Surprise!

I knew the name Jumpin' Jack's Drive In sounded familiar as we stumbled upon it on our drive through Scotia, NY but little did I realize that it was because it's a place that I'm "friends" with on Facebook! I try to support Retro Roadmap worthy businesses on  the Retro Roadmap Facebook page of course. But even without that social media connection, we would've stopped at a place with this sign, for sure.

Though we were pretty beat, and full, and the weather was grey, I knew I wouldn't be a Retro Roadmap trooper if we didn't get something to eat here. Luckily I brough my dear trusted sidekick who is always ready to lend a stomach for the Retro Roadmap cause. Everyone seemed to order the fish sandwich, so that's what we got- along with a side of onion rings and slaw.

(Wow, fish shaped like a fish, and not a rectangle, go figure!)

Built in 1952 by "Jumpin" Jack Brennan, the restaurant is nestled down a hill, along the waters of the Mowhawk River, and is open seasonally. The original building, called the Twin-Freeze is still there, serving soft serve (which we were WAY too full to get!). The current low slung building where you order your food and drinks was built in 1964 and is almost impossible to get a good photo of but here goes:

( I told you it wasn't pretty, but after so many days on the road snappin photos, I was a but burned out!)

Speaking of photos, you MUST check out the great photo archive that they have on the Jumpin' Jack's website. It's cool to see how little the place has changed throughout the years, and also I was glad to see that they too have a hard time of getting a photo of the building.

While waiting for our food to be cooked we happened upon a very friendly server who said she had worked there for years and had nothing but glowing things to say about the place. The current owner was the general manager of "JJ's" in 1976, when Jack retired and sold the business to him.

As a Retro Roadmap heads up, you order your drinks separately from the food, and if you tip they yell "Subway!" Being the bad Retro Roadmap reporter, I totally forget why. Ask them when you visit, and post the answer in the comments section!

You can learn all sorts of Jumpin' Jack's etiquette from this Just For Fun post on VisitScotia.com. You can also read about the U.S. Water Ski Show Team, which performs in the river right behind JJ's, the Fireworks that are sponsored by Jumpin' Jack's every 4th of July weekend, and the concerts scheduled for Freedom Park just next door. Sure sounds like a Retro Roadmap worthy place to visit if you ask me!

Jumpin' Jack's Drive In Restaurant