Charlie Holloway is a true classic, just like the iconic drive-in restaurant he has owned and operated in the Paw Paw Lake neighborhood for nearly twenty years now. He lives and breathes for his classic Eddie's Drive-In on Paw Paw Lake Road in Coloma…and he is determined to provide the opportunity for a lot more people to enjoy the fruits of his labors.
Holloway broke ground recently to add a substantial new addition to his 50's style drive-in and diner — an addition capable of taking his current indoor seating capacity from 24 to more than 60 in the house. The concrete was curing today on his 24 by 40 foot addition at the back of the house, while contractors were penciling in the framing plans to get walls built and the place buttoned up before the cooler weather of fall takes over.
Eddie's Drive-In was closed for the day today for upgrades to the building, and there will likely be a few more disruptions before the drive-in's new dining room takes a bow around the Thanksgiving holiday, but in the meantime, Charlie's making plans to continue his classic approach to quality food and top notch service in a fun atmosphere.
A few of the classic drive-up lanes will be lost in the process, but Charlie's not about to give up the great tradition of car-hops bringing his 50's style menu to your car window as has been the model for decades now.
In addition to the much larger dining room which will add 40 new seats to Eddie's, the expansion will include a new set of handicap-access restrooms with changing stations and more. As he expands the seating, Charlie says he'll continue to evolve the menu adding "more diner-style, great American comfort foods" to the line-up. A little over a year ago he began that process by introducing his now-famous ribs, a Hot Beef Manhattan, Cajun Meatloaf, Steaks, BBQ Chicken (and ribs) and Pork Chop dinners.
This will be his third winter season, since he turned the drive-in into a year-round establishment, and that's when he also introduced his breakfast menu, which has been a huge hit for the Coloma region.
Charlie is a perfectionist when it comes to food prep and styling. He makes his owns gravies, sauces and hand-crafts his comfort foods. In fact, he's tossing around the idea of a hot buffet a couple of days a week, featuring all homemade comfort foods, not typical cafeteria fare, and would feature his own gravies, meatloaf and more. He's also contemplating the addition of a soup, salad and baked potato bar as the new diner settles into a groove.
As the new addition comes on line, remodeling in the older portion will coincide to bring uniformity to the look and feel of the new dining room and to brighten things up inside.
Holloway currently has about 10 people on staff and anticipates taking that up to close to 15 once the expansion is complete, in order to help handle the new workload of more than double the number of patrons.
As Eddie's Drive-In, located at 5036 Paw Paw Lake Road in Coloma, heads into Charlie's 20th anniversary year at the helm, he's very proud of what he brings to the grill and to the table for customers from all walks of life, and says his success is pegged directly to his undying attention to detail, his flair, his strong work and training ethic, and his pledge to proudly put his signature on what arrives on your plate or promises to make it right of something has gone wrong. Eddie's Drive-In operates from 7am until 8pm Sunday through Thursday and 7am until 9pm on Fridays and Saturdays in the period between Labor Day and Memorial Day with expanded hours in the summer season.
Look for the new expansion to come on line about the third week of November, just about Thanksgiving time…a time when Charlie and his crew are always ever thankful for the people who have been visiting Eddie's Drive-In for years. Stay tuned.
