1958 - The Battle of Hart’s Drive In

I think this is the way the story goes. But don't hold me too much to the details. I'm an old man and my memory is going.

Anyway, it all began in 1948. Santa Fe was on the verge of a great building boom in that year. The Sears Roebuck Company announced plans to bring a store to Lincoln Avenue, just off the Plaza. Parker’s Roller Rink opened up close to the American Legion Hut. St. Vincent Hospital was about to start fund-raising for a new hospital to be built just up the street from the old one. And Hart’s Malt Shop debuted at 1370 Cerrillos Road, very close to Monterey Street, the entrance to Casa Linda, the new Stamm subdivision built around Kaune School.

The arrival of Hart's Malt Shop was big news to the kids in Santa Fe since the only other teen hangout at the time was Lee’s Snack Shack at 447 Cerrillos Road, the next block south of Santa Fe Motor Company. Though both offered the usual diner menu -- sandwiches, ice cream, chili and barbecue, Lee's offered his famous Jumbo Hamburgers whereas Hart's specialized in malts, floats, sundaes and banana splits. Lee’s motto, by the way, was “Take Home a Snack from the Snack Shack and You’ll Always be Back.” Hart's didn't have a motto.

In 1954, Everett Hart (who lived in the house behind the malt shop) gave up the space and the restaurant to businessman Leonard R. Bertram. Bertram noticed that more young Santa Feans were cruising Cerrillos road in hot rods and jalopies. So he converted the malt shop to a drive-in where cars were welcome. He called it Bert's Drive-In. Like Mr. Hart, Leonard Bertram and his wife Emma lived in the house behind the drive-in.

Bert's Drive-In proved to be profitable and soon the Bertrams moved into a house nearby on Monterey Street. Bert's was joined by two other Bertram operated drive-ins, Burger Bowl No. 1 at 236 Rosario Street and Burger Bowl No. 2 at 2007 Cerrillos Road. In late 1957, Bertram closed up Bert's Drive-In and began to operate only the two Burger Bowl drive-ins.

That's when Wyatt Hart, better known as Clyde Hart and (I suspect) a relative of the original Malt Shop founder, Everett Hart, moved into the house behind the drive-in and re-opened the drive-in under the name Hart's Drive-In. Unlike 1948, when the old Malt Shop was almost the only place in town for teens to patronize, 1958 offered considerably more competition.

Lee’s Snack Shack had long since disappeared. But Bert's had two Burger Bowl locations, there was Chuck's Drive-In at the Pen Road Shopping Center (changing its name that year to the Neet Teen Drive In), Country Boy Clem's Drive-in at 1311 Cerrillos Road, Blake's LotaBurger Drive Inn at 1915 Cerrillos Road, Ricky's Drive-In at 1713 Second Street and Ingram's Drive In at 1734 Cerrillos Road, serving the most exotic fare of all -- pizzaburgers and chocolate Cokes. But Hart's Drive-In was still struggling to get its fair share of the cokes and fries customers when trouble began.

A group of neighboring residents – mostly from the Kaune addition -- got up a petition against Hart's signed by over 230 people. The irate neighbors presented the petition directly to the City Council and demanded action. The petition asked the City to "abate a public nuisance" and alleged that certain lots in the 1300 block on Cerrillos Road were "being used continually as a hang-out or meeting place for persons unknown who constantly create disturbances at all hours of the night by quarreling, fighting, drinking intoxicants, engaging in drunken brawls, throwing beer cans and other refuse items on the property of the undersigned, racing unmuffled automobiles, engaging in sex practices, and generally conducting themselves in a manner prejudicial to the health, safety, comfort, property, sense of decency and morals of the children who live in the area."

Clyde Hart, the owner of Hart’s Drive-In, declared that he ran a clean and quiet operation. He claimed that the real reason he was being targeted was because of professional jealousy. And he pointed his finger straight at Leonard Bertram.

It turned out that one of the irritated residents who signed the neighborhood petition was one L. R. Bertram, owner of his own string of Burger Bowl drive-ins. Interestingly, until 1957, Bertram had operated Bert's Drive In at the same spot -- even living in the same house behind the restaurant. But, in 1958 he lived on Monterey Street around the corner from Hart's Drive In.

But Mr. Bertram denied any accusation of professional jealousy, saying he didn't consider Hart's to be competition for his drive-ins which were "an entirely different type operation." In his letter of response to the City Council, Bertram said he understood what it was like to operate a drive-in restaurant at that spot. He himself had done it for several years. And he wasn't against the teenagers, most of which were just good, wholesome kids. At days end, Bertram said, he was just one of many in the residential neighborhood who were fed up with the noise and fights at Hart’s Drive In.

The City Council assigned the citizen's petition to the police committee for action. A few weeks later, the committee set forth new "obligations"applicable to all drive-ins within the city." From then on, owners of drive-in properties had to "police" their own premises, call the city police promptly if there was trouble and keep the premises clean. Finally, all drive-ins were barred from playing juke boxes over loud speakers.

And that's what ended the war between Hart's and Bert's.

These days, the building at the center of the battle -- 1370 Cerrillos Road -- is occupied by a florist shop run by a very nice couple named DeVargas. Hart's Drive-in (operated in its last days by old man Everett Hart again) closed around 1967. Ingram's, Neet Teen, Ricky's . .. they're all gone. Bert's Burger Bowl No. 2 is now a parking lot for a vacant Blockbuster store. But Bert's Burger Bowl No. 1 -- now under the stewardship of Fred De Castro -- is still going strong on Rosario Street, advertising itself as the “last of the original drive-ins.”

The only other thing I remember about those days was that Leonard Bertram claimed to be the first to introduce the chili cheeseburger to Santa Fe. No one believed it then, either.