Tradition of Sisters Sno Cap Drive upheld by three generations

Published 10:30 am Thursday, July 31, 2025

It’s hard to miss the Sno Cap Drive-In with its long line of customers and old-fashioned signage along Cascade Avenue in Sisters. 

According to a plaque installed by the Sisters Historical Society on the west side of the building, the drive-up window once served horseback riders and witnessed cows passing by on their way up to summer range.

Some things haven’t changed since 1954, said Lacey Weeks, 48, a third-generation owner, who started helping out around the restaurant as a child. But the Sisters institution has also had to grapple with the challenges that have plagued the hospitality industry in recent years, such as an unaffordable rental market and supply chain disruptions.

Weeks officially took over the business from her grandparents in 1998, alongside her father, Terry Burgess. She was 21 at the time and hadn’t yet crystallized her plans for the future, but Burgess had.

“He always told me, ‘I’m getting hits for you… This is ultimately going to be yours and your retirement,” Weeks said. 

Over the years, Burgess became the face of the Sno Cap. And although he retired nine years ago, he could often be found propped up against the wall of the restaurant in his favorite booth.

“People all over knew him. They asked about him all the time over the years, when he wasn’t here,” Weeks said.

Burgess died in February. Weeks lost her father and business partner in one fell swoop.

Terry Burgess sits in his favorite booth, as captured in this photo taken by a customer. (Submitted photo)

His presence, however, continues to be felt in the drive-in, including in a subway tile by Burgess’ favorite booth, where he had rubbed off the paint with the back of his head, said Scott Weeks, Lacey’s husband, who has since stepped in to run the restaurant.

The hamburgers and milkshakes are still prepared in the same way as when the restaurant opened, Lacey said.

In an era of customers being used to instant gratification, the Weeks have had to remind customers that food preparation takes time, especially when the kitchen is trying to keep up with a long line of orders. A sign that Burgess installed on the door a decade ago reads, “Caution. This is not fast food.”

Flavors of ice cream

The rising cost of ingredients has prohibited the family business from churning out all of its ice cream flavors by hand. A vintage Taylor machine is still in operation, but is limited to making one batch at a time and takes about 30 minutes, Lacey said.

Flavors still made by hand include the most popular, Cascade blackberry, along with cookie monster, rum raisin and pina colada, a blue coconut and pineapple-flavored ice cream longtime regulars know by its former name,  “blue lake.”

Much of the menu at Sno Cap Drive has stayed the same over the past 71 years. It still serves ice cream, milkshakes and hamburgers. (Janay Wright/The Bulletin)

The collection of flavors is varied and unusual, with other options including lemon bar, licorice, maple nut, bubble gum and praline and pecan, in addition to the classics, such as vanilla, chocolate, strawberry and mint chocolate chip.

Ice cream is sourced locally from Eberhard’s Dairy Products, which also owned the Sno Cap between 1971 and 1973, Lacey said. 

The Weeks will continue to uphold the family legacy. But, when they reach retirement age in about a decade, there will no new generation inherit the business. Lacey worries what may become of the Sno Cap, but in the meantime, she continues to run the business in the same tradition as her grandparents and her dad.

“You keep making them proud,” Scott said.

If You Go

What: Sno Cap Drive In

When: 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday-Sunday

Where: 380 W Cascade Ave., Sisters

Cost: $5.25-$7.50 hard ice cream, $9.25-$16.50 hamburgers

Contact: 541-549-6151 and facebook.com/snocapdriveinsistersor