Snapka Drive Inn
Corpus Christi, Nueces County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Method Snapka was born October 5, 1916, in Abbott, Texas as the fifth of six boys. He learned to cook for the family at a young age. During the late 1930s, Method Snapka moved to Corpus Christi along with his brother, Rudy, and they left soon after to serve in WWII. After the war, the brothers returned and Method became the Clerk of the Corporation Court for the city of Corpus Christi. The brothers decided to travel down toward the Rio Grande Valley to find a location for their restaurant venture. The Robstown Snapka’s drive-inn opened on July 5, 1948, with a menu of hamburgers and Mexican dishes. The brothers hired a cook and a carhop and quickly found success. Method met Maxine Winkler at the Naval Air Station where she worked and the couple wed on January 24, 1949. Soon after, the brothers decided to open a second location at Highway 9 and Navigation Boulevard on Corpus Christi’s west side due to the area’s post-war growth. Local architect Morris Levy designed the Leopard Street location and incorporated the parking-under-awnings concept made popular by drive-inns. In 1953, Method left his position to work full time running the business with his brother. Snapka’s became popular due to the proximity of the Leopard Street location to Roy Miller High School, known at the time as Corpus Christi High School. Snapka’s became a popular hangout for students after football games and for families to socialize with their neighbors. The Leopard location suffered heavy damage during hurricane Celia in 1970, but Method rebuilt the drive-inn. There were five Snapka’s locations in Texas over the years. Two locations remain and they continue to be run by the Snapka family.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
After serving in World War II, Method Snapka and his brother Rudy opened their first drive-in in Robstown in 1948, serving hamburgers and Mexican dishes to a booming postwar coast. A second Corpus Christi location near Roy Miller High School became a popular hangout for students after football games and for neighborhood families, and the Snapka family still runs two of the restaurants today.
Why it matters
It preserves the car-culture drive-in as a fixture of postwar American community and small-business life.
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Related people
- · Method Snapka
Themes & tags
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