ENID—Since 1953, Lenox Drive In has been serving the Enid community freshly made hamburgers and cherry limeades.
This Valentine diner (a prefabricated mail order building) at 1110 N. Grand started out as an ice cream shop before the Lenox family bought it and started flipping burgers. Lenox is the oldest restaurant in Enid still operating its original location.
At one point, it changed hands before ending up in the Mercer family eight years ago.
Tammy Theilen Mercer has owned it since April 2024. Prior to that her oldest son, Ryan, and her youngest son, Dillon, each owned it and had their own triumphs and trials with it. The burger joint was temporarily closed as it switched hands.
After making repairs and readjustments, Mercer officially reopened Lenox Drive In on June 1, 2024 for business.
When customers step up to the window, they will see the menu is almost exactly as it was 70 years ago.
“It’s the original menu, but not the original prices,” Mercer said with a smile.
Folks like to reminisce when they order, she said, adding “It’s fun to hear their stories.”
Lenox has many repeat customers from surrounding local businesses, workers on nearby job sites, and students after school.
“I feel good that I remember their names,” Mercer, who is 63, joked.
She and her husband of 44 years, James, were high school sweethearts at Chisholm in the late 1970s and remember going to Lenox when they were dating.
Mercer also recalled in her childhood sitting with her family and eating burgers from Lenox especially during the summer, and as a married woman with a family bringing her kiddos to Lenox when they were little too.
Now her granddaughters work alongside her part-time in the hamburger stand, making more memories.
Still serving food favs
While still maintaining Lenox Drive In favorites such as burgers and old-fashioned cherry limeades, Mercer has introduced new favorites like the philly beef and swiss and chicken teriyaki. And for those with a gluten intolerance, there is a gluten-free bun option.
She offers weekday specials too; patrons can look on the new Facebook page (Facebook.com/profile.php?id=61561066418090) that is listed as Lenox Drive-In (even though the name doesn’t technically have a hyphen).
“I’m not changing the menu because it’s tradition,” Mercer said. “I had to promise our customers I’d only add to the menu not take away from it. The menu is what make Lenox Lenox. It’s what keeps us open.”
“Lenox is where I learned to love cherry limeades. I was probably about 12 when I had my first one,” she commented.
Lenox’s cherry limeades are still the old-fashioned kind using carbonated soda water (not Sprite or other clear sugary soda), a real cherry and sugar syrup blend, and hand-squeezed limes.
“We go through at least 30 limes a week,” Mercer said.
She noted Lenox’s “sidekickers” are also what sets them apart from other burger joints in the Enid area, adding some customers stop by just to order the sides. Lenox sides include fried mozzarella sticks, fried mushrooms, cheddar peppers, cheddar bites, onion straws, fried pickles, and 4- or 8-count chicken nuggets.
Partnering locally
Mercer is proud that Lenox Drive In partners locally with other businesses and restaurants too.
For example, she uses Enid meat market T&C Meats for her burgers.
“Our burgers are fresh, not frozen,” Mercer said. “We serve fresh meat every day.”
Her staff cooks the burgers the same way they were cooked when the Lenox family owned it.
Mercer also has rapport with fellow family-owned burger joint Lotta-burger (also known as Lot-A-Burger), which is located not far from Lenox on Willow.
“If we run out of lettuce or buns, we go to Lotta-burger,” she said, adding Lotta-burger does the same in coming to Lenox if they run out. Both restaurants use the same meat and bun suppliers, so that makes it easy to trade.
Celebrating one year
Lenox will turn one under Mercer’s ownership in June. She’s planning on celebrate its one-year anniversary with specials this summer. She’s hoping to introduce ice cream nachos to the menu at that time.
“We’ll make it a big deal,” Mercer said.
As for the future, she doesn’t have any big plans for Lenox. Technically she’s on the verge of entering retirement. Plus, she’s a great-grandmother as well as her elderly mother’s caregiver.
“My goal is to work until I can’t,” she said.
She acknowledged the restaurant business has its ups and downs, especially during the winter since they don’t have indoor seating, but the same customers keep coming back.
“They say Lenox burgers are the best,” Mercer said. She’s not sure what makes them the best; she said perhaps it’s because the grill is well-seasoned and bricked every night.
Bricked refers to the process of cleaning a hot grill surface using a specialized cleaning tool called a “grill brick,” which is a rough, porous stone made from pumice that effectively scrapes off grease and food residue built up on the grill grates. Basically, the staff uses the brick to “scrub” the grill clean, and sometimes, Mercer said, they brick the during the day too.
Lenox Drive In is open Monday through Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. (8 p.m. during the summer) and Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. (7 p.m. during the summer). Call-in orders are welcomed: (580) 237-8365. Cash and credit cards are accepted.
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See the article and photos in full-color in the March-April edition of ETown: etownmagazine-cnhi.newsmemory.com