You can still find Randy Roy most days at the Carl Junction restaurant with his name out front – but not behind the counter as he’s been for nearly 30 years. Look for him among the regulars, drinking coffee instead of serving it.

The iconic restaurant, originally known as Babe’s, became Randy’s Drive In when Randy and his wife, Londa, bought the place in 1992.

It was 50 years ago, in 1971, that Jane and Carrol Sill opened the drive in at 1203 E. Pennell St. and named it Babe’s, after Jane’s mother, Babe Lundien, who was a school cook.

The Sills sold Babe’s in about 1978. Several owners followed, including Vern and Judy Gilbert, until Randy and Londa bought it and changed the name to Randy’s.

The drive in has always been a good first-job for teenagers. Randy and Londa’s sons, Chad and Chris  worked there with their friends. 

One of their friends was Cole Lundien, a great-great-grandson of Babe Lundien.

And now, Cole has bought Randy’s with his parents, John and Jennifer Lundien.

Cole will manage the business and will usually be the one in back cooking hamburgers. His brothers Blake and Ethan have also worked for Randy. And the youngest family members, Aidan, 12, and Makayla, 10, will be helping out on occasion.

It’ll still be Randy’s Drive In, and don’t expect any other changes. The building is basically the same since it was built, and so is the menu.

Cole says he’s often asked, “Is this the same menu?” To which he replies, “Yep, same menu.”

He says the double cheeseburger is the most popular menu item, as is the weekend special, which is the double cheeseburger and fries dinner for
$6.99.

Other specials are the catfish dinner on Mondays, the 2-piece chicken dinner on Tuesdays and the hot beef dinner with mashed potatoes on Wednesdays.

Randy says one fixture that got renewed importance during the pandemic is the walk-up window. “We used the heck out of that with COVID. We stayed busy because a lot of places closed.”

Randy’s decision to buy the drive in 30 years ago was natural because his family has had a business on Pennell Street since 1970, when his parents, Bob and Jean Roy, opened Bob Roy TV and Appliance. They later owned Bob Roy Realty in a building that still stands across Pennell from Randy’s Drive In.