Snapka Drive Inn

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Snapka Drive Inn, right there in Nueces County. Now, every good Texas story starts somewhere small, and this one starts in Abbott, Texas, on October 5, 1916, when a boy named Method Snapka came into the world as the fifth of six boys. Five of six.

That's a lot of hungry mouths at the dinner table, and Method learned early on how to feed them. You could say the kitchen found him before he ever went looking for it. In the late 1930s, Method and his brother Rudy packed up and moved to Corpus Christi.

But they didn't stay long before the call of a bigger duty pulled them away. Both brothers went off to serve in World War II. When the war was done and the dust had settled, they came back to Corpus Christi, and Method took on a respectable position as the Clerk of the Corporation Court for the city.

But the brothers had an idea stewin'. They wanted to run a restaurant. So they did what any sensible Texan would do: they got in a car and drove south toward the Rio Grande Valley, lookin' for just the right spot.

Whatever they found on that road convinced them. The Robstown Snapka's Drive-Inn opened on July 5, 1948, serving hamburgers and Mexican dishes. They hired a cook and a carhop, and success came quickly.

Around that same time, Method's personal life was takin' shape too. He met a woman named Maxine Winkler out at the Naval Air Station where she worked. The two of them wed on January 24, 1949.

The man was building something on every front. With post-war growth pushing out across Corpus Christi's west side, the brothers saw an opening and they took it. A second Snapka's went up at Highway 9 and Navigation Boulevard.

Local architect Morris Levy designed that Leopard Street location and worked in the parking-under-awnings concept that drive-inns had made so popular. In 1953, Method stepped away from his court position entirely to run the business full time alongside Rudy. Now here's where Snapka's really digs into Corpus Christi's memory.

That Leopard Street location sat close to Roy Miller High School, which folks knew at the time as Corpus Christi High School. After football games, students poured in. Families pulled up to visit with their neighbors.

Snapka's became the kind of place a town builds its stories around. Then came 1970, and Hurricane Celia hit that Leopard Street location hard. Heavy damage.

The kind that would make a lesser man walk away. Method Snapka rebuilt it. Over the years, five Snapka's locations operated across Texas.

Today, two remain, and they're still run by the Snapka family. A boy who learned to cook for his brothers in Abbott, Texas, built something that outlasted a hurricane and kept on going. That's not a small thing.

That's the whole thing.

What the marker says

Method Snapka was born October 5, 1916, in Abbott, Texas as the fifth of six boys. He learned to cook for the family at a young age. During the late 1930s, Method Snapka moved to Corpus Christi along with his brother, Rudy, and they left soon after to serve in WWII. After the war, the brothers returned and Method became the Clerk of the Corporation Court for the city of Corpus Christi. The brothers decided to travel down toward the Rio Grande Valley to find a location for their restaurant venture. The Robstown Snapka's drive-inn opened on July 5, 1948, with a menu of hamburgers and Mexican dishes. The brothers hired a cook and a carhop and quickly found success. Method met Maxine Winkler at the Naval Air Station where she worked and the couple wed on January 24, 1949. Soon after, the brothers decided to open a second location at Highway 9 and Navigation Boulevard on Corpus Christi's west side due to the area's post-war growth. Local architect Morris Levy designed the Leopard Street location and incorporated the parking-under-awnings concept made popular by drive-inns. In 1953, Method left his position to work full time running the business with his brother. Snapka's became popular due to the proximity of the Leopard Street location to Roy Miller High School, known at the time as Corpus Christi High School. Snapka's became a popular hangout for students after football games and for families to socialize with their neighbors. The Leopard location suffered heavy damage during hurricane Celia in 1970, but Method rebuilt the drive-inn. There were five Snapka's locations in Texas over the years. Two locations remain and they continue to be run by the Snapka family.