History of the Billy Burger
My Dad is Billy Bell, the "Billy" in the Billy Burger... This story was relayed to me via my Grandma Alice Bell.
My Grandpa, Willis (Bill) Orson Bell (I'll call him Willis in this review to avoid confusion), built the restaurant in the mid-1950s on the lot he and his wife, Alice, owned next to their motel, the 8-Bar B... He named it the "Billy Burger" after Dad, and the neon sign you see there today was designed by Grandpa Bell, and the first neon sign in the town of Wilbur. Dad (Billy) was born in '53, so I think G'pa Bell built the drive-in in 1955. The Bell's also owned and operated "Ma's Cafe'" in downtown Wilbur. The Billy Burger was built for two reasons, which I'll explain:
During the '50's, burgers became all the rage, as drive-in's, and burger joints gained in popularity, and the younger crowd, and some of the older lunch crowds demanded burgers. Willis was the cook in the kitchen at "Ma's" (named after his "Ma", Mrs. Blanche Antoinette Bordeau Bell, whom he built the restaurant for, (She lost interest and Bill and Alice took it over), Willis had a hearty dislike for the mess the frying burgers created in his kitchen, as well as the grease clogging up the antiquated plumbing system of the old building the restaurant was situated in.
His eldest son, Gary William Bell, was about 16 at this time, and Willis needed to keep Gary busy, as Gary was often out creating trouble, or tomfoolery. He made Gary the chief cook and bottle washer. Gary worked very hard there till his graduation from Wilbur High School.
Bill and Alice sold the drive - in eventually, to whom I don't recall any more. As a kid, I was always given a $1 to get an ice-cream cone by my Grandma Alice. In those days, Jerry and Anita Baird ran the drive-in. If I didn't have any money, or was short, Jerry would just give me the ice cream, and many times, I would show up wo money. He was VERY gracious to me, and the Bells.
The Jerry Clarks run the "Billy Burger" now, and if you haven't been there yet, you need to put it on your bucket list. If you live in Spokane, make it a day-trip to go to Grand Coulee Dam, or Lake Roosevelt, and have either lunch or dinner at The "Billy Burger". You will be glad you made the trip.
My best,
~Willie Bell
From Trip Advisor