The Yankee Doodle Coffee Shop, also known as The Doodle, was a

diner A diner is a small, inexpensive restaurant found across the United States, as well as in Canada and parts of Western Europe. Diners offer a wide range of foods, mostly American cuisine, a casual atmosphere, and, characteristically, a co ...

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134 ...

that catered to the

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...

community for 58 years before closing on January 28, 2008. The narrow restaurant, with only 12 stools arranged opposite a counter that ran the length of shop, was a favorite among students, faculty, and employees of the university.

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...

, George W. Bush, and

Henry Winkler Henry Franklin Winkler, OBE (born October 30, 1945), is an American actor, comedian, author, executive producer, and director. After rising to fame as Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli on the American television series '' Happy Days'', Winkler has ...

are said to have been regulars during their times at Yale.A Coffee Shop Closes, and There’ll Be Sad Songs Down at Mory’s
Thomas Kaplan, ''The New York Times'', January 31, 2008. The Doodle was known for its cheap but excellent food, especially the fried donut—an old fashioned donut cut down the middle, buttered, fried on the grill, and then re-buttered before serving. Other unique items popular with students included; the Bacon Egg and Cheese "No Break," The Doodle Dandy, and a variety of grilled muffins.

History

Lew Beckwith Sr. opened the Doodle on the corner of Elm and York Streets on April 15, 1950, selling hamburgers for 20¢ each, cheeseburgers for 25¢, and " pigs in a blanket" ( hot dogs stuffed with American cheese and wrapped in

bacon Bacon is a type of salt-cured pork made from various cuts, typically the belly or less fatty parts of the back. It is eaten as a side dish (particularly in breakfasts), used as a central ingredient (e.g., the bacon, lettuce, and tomato sand ...

) for 30¢. Breakfast of two eggs, toast, juice, and coffee cost just 50¢. As the shop had no space for a deep fryer,

French fries French fries (North American English), chips (British English), finger chips (Indian English), french-fried potatoes, or simply fries, are '' batonnet'' or ''allumette''-cut deep-fried potatoes of disputed origin from Belgium and France. Th ...

were not on the menu. The restaurant was named after the tune Lew's father had sung to him as a boy. Other than the prices, the menu and the diner itself changed little in the intervening years. It closed with its original cash register still in use (which only could ring-up up to $2.00), and there was still a cigarette machine in the corner. It hadn't actually been stocked in years, but it was installed on November 22, 1963, the day of the

Kennedy assassination John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated on Friday, November 22, 1963, at 12:30 p.m. CST in Dallas, Texas, while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza. Kennedy was in the vehicle with ...

, so the Doodle kept it. Ownership of the Doodle passed from Lew Beckwith to his son, Lew Beckwith Jr., and finally to grandson Rick Beckwith in 2000.

Closing of the restaurant

In 2008, citing economic considerations, Beckwith decided to close the Doodle. The ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' quoted alumnus

Jonathan Zittrain Jonathan L. Zittrain (born December 24, 1969) is an American professor of Internet law and the George Bemis Professor of International Law at Harvard Law School. He is also a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School, a professor of computer scie ...

, a professor at Oxford University, as saying, "It’s one of the few dynastic successions that I had hoped would never end". Vice president of the University, Bruce Alexander, said, "If they had been in one of ale'sproperties, we would have made every effort to keep the business going so future generations of Yale students could enjoy the same pigs in blankets we did". Soon after the news got out, alumni and students began a movement to reopen the business. A group of alumni began soliciting donations online through Facebook groups, and owner Rick Beckwith solicited donations via a website, which offered various Doodle-branded merchandise for sale.

Controversy over donated money and merchandise orders

The restaurant has remained closed since January 2008, but the Doodle website has continued advertising Doodle-related merchandise for sale and soliciting donations. In August 2008, articles appeared in the ''

Yale Daily News The ''Yale Daily News'' is an independent student newspaper published by Yale University students in New Haven, Connecticut since January 28, 1878. It is the oldest college daily newspaper in the United States. The ''Yale Daily News'' has consis ...

'' and the ''

New Haven Register The ''New Haven Register'' is a daily newspaper published in New Haven, Connecticut. It is owned by Hearst Communications. The Register's main office is located at 100 Gando Drive in New Haven. The ''Register'' was established about 1812 an ...

'', reporting that Yale alumni and members of the community who had ordered Doodle merchandise via Rick Beckwith's web site were unhappy that the merchandise they paid for was not delivered.

Doodle Challenge

The Doodle Challenge was an

eating contest Competitive eating, or speed eating, is an activity in which participants compete against each other to eat large quantities of food, usually in a short time period. Contests are typically eight to ten minutes long, although some competitions c ...

to see how many burgers could be eaten in 2.5 hours. The Challenge was not a scheduled event; rather, a person might walk into the Doodle at any time and attempt the Challenge. If a new record was set, the burgers were free, and the eater's name was added to a plaque above the door. The Challenge started in 1989 when Ed Anderson, a

undergraduate, ate 10 burgers. The last Yale student to hold the record was John Bockstoce with 26 burgers. As of July 2006, the title was held by Tim "Eater X" Janus, an internationally ranked competitive eater, who ate 34 burgers on May 25, 2006.Lunch of Champions
Ryan Nerz, ''Yale Alumni Magazine'', July/August 2006.

References

External links

Yankee Doodle’s Done
Melissa Bailey, ''New Haven Independent'', January 29, 2008.
After 57 years, the Doodle closes
Bharat Ayyar, ''Yale Daily News'', January 30, 2008.
Screw Darfur-Save the Doodle
Alexis Fitts, ''New Haven Advocate'', Feb 7, 2008.
Youtube video: Fife and drum corp playing Yankee Doodle Dandy in front of the Doodle.

In New Haven, A Dandy Rescue
ADRIAN BRUNE, ''Hartford Courant'', March 19, 2008.
EatFeats.com: Doodle Challenge
{{Competitive eating Restaurants in Connecticut Competitive eating 1950 establishments in Connecticut Buildings and structures in New Haven, Connecticut Economy of New Haven, Connecticut Restaurants established in 1950