Our Story
THE BEGINNING
In 1936, the Teepee Drive-In was created. We were told it was the original Visitor Center which sold information brochures and souvenirs. The Teepee went on to sell hot dogs the 2nd year they were in business, walk-up service only. During the 1950s, the brick-and-mortar establishment was built around the original Teepee structure, which was also walk-up window service only. In the 1970s, there was an addition made to the building, allowing customers to order and dine inside. Every new owner over the years has added their own touch to the Teepee in some way. This has helped preserve the integrity of the building to allow future generations to keep the Teepee traditions alive.
THE JOURNEY
In 2020, we both found ourselves at a crossroad in our careers. We both had dreams of our own, but ultimately, we both wanted to build something together. At the time, Jessee was an executive chef in the city where he was working for a well-known restaurant. Carrie’s background was in finance/accounting where she worked for medical facilities many years prior. Merging the two and buying the Teepee made sense for us. We both wanted to take control of our own futures, and this allowed us to do that. Buying the Teepee has allowed us to build relationships with many locals over the last couple of years and some have become friends of ours. We don’t know what the future holds or how the story is going to end, but what we do know is that it has been an honor and a privilege to be a part of Teepee history.
THE ADVENTURE
Our plan is to continue working towards being able to give back more to the community, especially the kids in the community. We both grew up in homes that were full of love, but often not a lot of food. Our main goal is to be able to provide as many free meals as possible to kids during our annual Halloween Party and Sundae Bar in June. We plan to come up with new and more exciting ways apart from our Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve to feed as many kids and individuals as possible. We want to ensure that the Teepee maintains long-term stability and is still around for many generations to come.