By Kerri Rempp
Discover Northwest Nebraska
My stomach is flat, the ‘L’ is just silent.
Dear weather, stop showing off. We get it, you’re hot.
Anyone visiting Crawford in the last three-plus decades has probably had a chuckle thanks to the Staab’s Drive-Inn sign. But the attention-getting quotes are just a preface to the real reason locals and visitors alike keep returning to the Northwest Nebraska institution.
“Right away we put in the broasters and the broasted chicken,” Renee Staab said of purchasing the diner along Highway 20 with her husband Roger. “We thought it would be a good addition to the area.”
The couple, originally from Iowa, brought broasted chicken to Northwest Nebraska from their native state. They also added curly fries, broasted potatoes and fresh, hand-made hamburger patties rather than the frozen pre-made variety. Later they added flurries and new combinations of ice cream sundaes, Renee said.
Constructed in the 1950s by John Wickstrom, Staab’s began as a Dairy Queen before eventually changing its name to Daisy Queen. In 1981, the Staabs purchased the business and within a few years changed the name again. Even before the name change, however, the couple revamped the menu, adding the broasted chicken for which Staab’s has become famous.
The Staabs have since retired, selling the business in 2018 to Jason and Taylor Hauser. The name remains in honor of the couple’s nearly 37 years of ownership and their mentorship to the Hausers, Jason said.
Jason Hauser takes an order at Staab’s Drive-Inn.
A certain symmetry led both the Staabs and the Hausers into the business. Roger was working for Gillette and familiar with the business through his route. It was suggested they purchase the Daisy Queen during one of Roger’s Fourth of July deliveries to the business. Decades later, Hauser was doing right-of-way work in the area for the state when someone suggested he buy the business.
When Hauser reached out to the Staabs, they encouraged him to work at the drive-in first, and he did so in 2016 and 2017 before finalizing the sale in 2018.
“We wanted to see it go into good hands,” Renee said. “We put a lot of blood, sweat and tears in it.”
For Hauser, it was the culmination of a life-long dream.
“Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to own my own business,” he said. “What Staab’s has offered me and my family has been huge.”
Staab’s is still known for its broasted chicken. Hauser credits the long-standing tradition of using fresh, never frozen chicken, the 48-hour marinade and the daily hand-breading process for the home-cooked taste.
“People travel quite a way for our broasted chicken,” Hauser said. “Like Roger always says, ‘You won’t get a better piece of chicken unless you’re a rooster.’”
The business gave Staabs the opportunity to raise their family in a small community, employed their children during high school and allowed them to meet a variety of people from across the country, some who remain close friends today, Renee said.
“We really did enjoy it,” she said.
Taylor and Jason Hauser bought Staab’s Drive-Inn in Crawford in 2018. They are pictured here with their son, Jackson.
Janet Lemmon takes an order at Staab’s Drive-Inn.
With a typical staff of eight, Staab’s continues to employ a lot of high school kids during the summer, and Hauser tries to mentor them in business practices and a general attitude of success. Working with them and interacting with the customers is by far the most rewarding aspect, he said. He enjoys meeting the travelers who come from all over the country and the world, but also is deeply appreciative of the support from local residents.
“The cornerstone of (Staab’s) is definitely the locals,” he said, offering thanks to both his employees and the community for making the business a success.
“We definitely wouldn’t be where we are without those two ingredients.”
The Hausers have continued many of the traditions built by the Staabs, including the sayings on the signs. Roger was meticulous the business’s appearance, and Renee said they started using the funny quotes to grab the attention of passers-by. It worked, and over the years, many people have snapped photos in front of the sign.
“Sometimes it just pops in your head,” Hauser said of what to put up on the sign. Other times they go searching the internet and tweak it to the business or the region.
The newest addition to Staab’s, however, was one added by the Hausers – Big Ern. The overgrown iron chicken was something the Staabs had always hoped to find, but it took two years into ownership by the Hausers before it became a reality. Taylor saw the chicken along the highway while they were driving through the Black Hills. The unpainted chicken was exactly what they had been searching for.
Their first trip to bring him home was a bust because he was frozen to the ground, but he eventually made it to Northwest Nebraska. Crawford’s Creighton and April Grant painted him in preparation for a chicken walk in May 2020, where they rolled him through Crawford’s streets to his final nesting place underneath the business sign.
“He’s heavy. He’s a pretty stout chicken,” Jason said.
Staab’s Drive-Inn is open March through November each year and hosts an annual Retro Night in June.
