We’re all looking for a good deal these days, and now you can get one with a touch of nostalgia. If you’ve missed KC Drive Inn, with their renowned waffle dogs and Ono Ono shakes, you can get them and more every weekend at Shingon Mission on Sheridan Street with prices that are almost reminiscent of yesteryear.
Originally, the temple’s kitchen was used to feed the congregation, but due to declining membership, it became vacant, and they rented it out to keep it in use. Dayton Asato—whose family owned KC Drive Inn since 1934 (it was founded in 1929)—is a Shingon Mission member and had talked about opening a little satellite café there with fellow congregant Keith Suyat Terauchi and Rev. Reyn Tsuru for the last two decades, well before KC Drive Inn closed in 2005.
The vision finally came to fruition last year, when Suyat, along with Shingon members Edgar Milan and Garrett Oshiro, agreed to revive the operation and see if they could run a restaurant.
They quietly started offering KC Drive Inn waffle dogs and burgers outside the temple, allowing patrons to get a satisfying lunch for just $6…