John Delgadillo is the son of the original owner of the Snow Cap Drive-In, Seligman, Arizona. John now serves up a healthy supply of jokes with each order
Since 1953, a member of the Delgadillo family has been serving up fountain drinks, burgers, burritos, malts and a steady supply of comedy at Delgadillo’s Snow Cap Drive-In in Seligman, AZ: a Route 66 classic. The fun began as soon as I got out of my car, parked in a lot filled with classic cars, billboards, gas pumps, road signs and other Route 66 paraphernalia. Walking past the outdoor seating area, I entered the long and narrow ordering area, which was wallpapered with business cards, badges and patches from former visitors.
Standing amongst a large collection of 1950s signs and trinkets, John Delgadillo greets every visitor with a smile and a joke. Upon seeing my Mets hat, John began the rapport by saying, “hi New Yorker.” When I asked, “what’s good,” he replied “nothing for you New Yorker.” He then proceeded to squirt a yellow string out of a bottle of mustard, completely fooling me for a second.
The Snow Cap Drive-In, Seligman, Arizona, has been serving burgers and jokes to customers since the 1950s on Route 66
While I contemplated my order, a pair of girls came into the shop and were promptly asked, “do you know what you want or do you need to look?” They said they needed to look so John handed them a candy bar called Look. Later, after placing my order for a burrito and saying yes to his offer of napkins, he produced a strung together collection of used napkins and asked me if I wanted them recycled. Yet more gags awaited me when I said yes to wanting a stray for my root beer was handed a bundled together collection of actual straw.
Finally, after getting my meal and asking John if he had a business card he said, “yes, here’s my card,” and handed me a business card with the words “My Card” on it. I know this type of humor isn’t for everyone, but I absolutely love puns and these were like bad puns with props. The final gag came when I tried to get out of the door using a handle on the right hand side, only to find it was a fake one and the door opened by the real handle on the left side. Thanks to John and his punny sense of humor, Delgadillo’s Snow Cap Drive-In really was a highlight of my entire drive across Route 66.
