Dog n Suds was a popular choice for fast food in the 1960s and 1970s, and remains a recognized root beer brand today. A co-founder of the chain was formerly a high school music teacher in Illinois.

Seven decades ago, Don Hamacher, who helped build Dog n Suds into a juggernaut, was a former music teacher in Robinson, in Crawford County in southeastern Illinois. He later accepted a high school teaching position in Champaign, where Dog n Suds was born.

A product of Richmond, Missouri, Hamacher graduated from the University of Missouri and began his teaching career in 1944 at Robinson High School. He stayed there until 1950, when he was appointed the director of the college choir at MacMurray College in Jacksonville.

In a 2012 memoir, Hamacher described his time at MacMurray as “a great challenge” and “an enjoyable part of my music career.” His year in Jacksonville also led him to a business opportunity that would later consume his life.

Hamacher recalled that “I met a band director who had started a soft ice cream store in Springfield…and it provided him with a nice summer income. That sounded like a good idea.” Inspired, Hamacher said he “found a good location in Virden [and] bought a soft ice cream machine…[I] was in business by the end of the school year. Two weeks later, I added a root beer machine and more than doubled my income.”

His new venture opened in Virden, 20 miles south of Springfield, in June 1951 as the Dairy Crème. But weeks later, Hamacher was on the move again.

He recalled that “I was really enjoying the business” in Virden “when I received a phone call from the superintendent of schools in Champaign. He told me that the high school vocal position was going to be open and he offered me the job.” Since Hamacher considered the opportunity “the No. 1 high school job in the state,” he accepted, sold the Dairy Crème, and left for Champaign.

In the summer of 1953, Hamacher joined with his friend Jim Griggs, the orchestra director at Champaign High School, in another venture to earn extra money – a drive-in root beer and hot dog stand, which they dubbed Dog n Suds.

Students were employed as car hops, and receipts of $300 were reported on the first day of business. By the end of the first week, local police had to be used to direct customer traffic at night.

From those beginnings, Dog n Suds exploded into one of the iconic names in the American restaurant industry, eventually growing to 650 locations in 38 states and Canada by 1968.

There were numerous Dog n Suds outlets across the region, including at 1800 E. Cass St. in Joliet, U.S. Route 30 in Plainfield, 660 Theodore St. in Crest Hill, and 914 W. Main St. in Streator.

Some of the many others were at 6410 Northwest Highway in Crystal Lake, 2911 W. Route 120 in McHenry, 1505 13th Ave. in Mendota, and 2130 E. Grand Ave. in Lindenhurst.

The meteoric success of Dog n Suds lifted Hamacher and Griggs to semi-celebrity status, and in 1966, Hamacher appeared on the hit game show “To Tell the Truth.” He later served as president of both the International Franchise Association and the Root Beer Institute. In 1969, Dog n Suds was chosen by Barron’s magazine as the top brand in the industry.

Griggs sold his interest in the early 1970s, and by 1974, all stock in Dog n Suds was owned by Frostie Enterprises of New Jersey. From there, the brand name went into decline; Hamacher ruefully said that “the different managements that followed used a cold, hard business approach” that differed from “our original homespun personalities.”

Hamacher continued his lifelong involvement in music both in Champaign and in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where he moved in 1975. He died in January 2013.

In 1991, the rights to Dog n Suds were purchased by a former franchisee from Lafayette, Indiana, who began to sell the company’s unique-tasting root beer in retail stores. Bottles of Dog n Suds root beer are still found in some outlets today.

However, the number of Dog n Suds restaurants has dwindled rapidly. Today, only 15 locations remain, mostly in the Midwest. Some of those remaining outlets are found in Grayslake, Ingleside and Richmond.

• Tom Emery is a freelance writer and historical researcher from Carlinville, Illinois. He may be reached at 217-710-8392 or ilcivilwar@yahoo.com.