Cougar Country Drive In
- Thread starter kougkurt
- Start date
Yet another good reason to pay Pullman a visit this fall!
Glad Cougar
Glad Cougar
They are opening to a lot of new competition. I was there a few weeks ago and the Lumberyard is starting to hit its stride, the Lodgepole in Moscow, a couple of other good taprooms and brewpubs in Moscow, lots of places with free live music. Its honestly kind of a food scene. Not to say that they can't make it, and I do like their special sauce (ketchup mixed with mayonaise), but nostalgia only gets you so far....
Thats only true to a point.
If they make the ULTIMATE COUGAR SPORTS BAR AND GRILL RESTAURANT:
With the right Atmosphere, service, prices, food, etc.
If they have the best, most popular free live music, and not crap free live music.
If they have the best BIG SCREEN TV'S with the Pac 12 network, all the Coug Games on TV, with the best speakers, sound system.
If they have SPORTS BOARD GAMES AND SPORTS VIDEO GAMES.
If they have Fantasy College, NFL, Cougar Fantasy Football games.
If they have Bingo, FUN gambling games like poker, bingo, etc.
If they have the best fooseball, best pool tables(3,4,5)
If they have the best coin op arcade games.
If they have the best internet cafe bar, with internet stations, and smart phone charge up stations
If they have Karaoke.
If they have FUN, creative, clever, misc games, activities, events.
If they get the best DJ's
If they have the best dance floor, dances there
If they get the gals there
And if they get the place to be ONE OF THE MAIN DESTINATIONS FOR SOME TO MOST COUG FANS.
And if they get the word out the best by word of mouth, internet, social media, flyers, pamphlets, desktop publishing, radio, TV, students, coug fans, networking with other businesses, etc
If they do those things the best, they will, would stand out for all the best reasons, etc.
But if they dont do all that successfully then they will, would probably eventually fail, because of the competition.
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It's a mom and pop burger and shake joint. It's not a night club. If you'd ever actually been in the building, you'd know that virtually nothing you typed is feasible there.
EDIT: If this comment seems out of place, make sure that you've clicked "show ignored"....and you will realize why you are ignoring certain people.
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Sigh... didn’t get your comment and had to look deeper. Good grief!
***EDIT - Inappropriate, immature comment removed. Time for me to grow up. Mik, sorry for acting like a dick.***
P.S. I was never a fan but will give it another try. Maybe I’ve been missing out all these years.
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Ok. I was going by what COcoug was saying.
It sounded like he was saying the place was competing against Bar and Grill's.
That made it sound like the place had been bought out and changed from the Mom and Pop Burger and Milkshake Joint it was into a Hybrid Mom an Pop Burger an Milkshake Bar an Grill.
While that is a little tiny bit different then the other Bar an Grill places, its either not enough to be successful against the competition, an or will be harder to be successful.
Its semi ok to be a Mom and Pop, Burger, an Milkshake Bar an Grill, but you need more then that.
Also I wasnt saying a NIGHTLIFE Bar, Club.
But I was saying a couple, few, some Nightlife OPTIONS.
Also Internet Stations, Smart Phone Charge Up stations, Sports, TV's, etc, is not necessarily hardcore Night Life, etc.
Examples.
I live, have lived in country towns smaller then Pullman.
And the country towns I have lived in that smaller then Pullman, have semi small country bar and grill restaurants, with semi sports bar options, with semi nightlife options, that have country dances, country dance floors. country live bands, country DJ's, country Karaoke, 1,2,3,4 pool tables, Nice TV's with Pac 12, ESPN, FOX, SPORTS, ETC.
One of the places in I think Chewelah, or Deer Park, had a couple, few, some internet stations, and a couple, few, some smart phone charge up stations.
Now all these things are not the main options, but if your in Pullman, in a place with, where your going to be competing with other Bar and Grills, your going to need OPTIONS, the things I talked about to COMPETE with the Bar and Grill place.
And if one doesnt want to do that, then they need to NOT compete with Bar and Grill places, by being, not having a Bar like option, and just sticking to a TRUE Old Fashioned Mom and Pops Wolfy's like(WOLFY'S is a 1950's like, Mom and Pop like, Burger an Milkshake Restaurant in Spokane), Burger and Milkshake Joint, NON BAR an Grill, Restaurant, that not competing directly with Bar an Grills as main direct competition, an that is not directly competing with normal, modern, traditional, fancy, an or fast food restaurants, but that is a THE SPECIAL NICHE MOM AN POPS, BURGER, MILKSHAKE, RESTAURANT, of the Pullman area.
Such a place might have a TV for Coug Fans to watch the game, to help get Coug fans to show up.
But that shouldnt be their main focus.
So either they should be either a Mom an Pops Burger and Milkshake place like WOLFY's of Spokane, or if they are going to combine that with being a Bar and Grill, they need to do at least some of the things I suggested, and be better then their Bar an Grill Competition to succeed.
I was a freshman at WSU when Cougar Country opened back in the 70s. The only thing that has changed over the years are the prices. The menu is the same, the food tastes the same, the small eating area is the same, the impossibly small parking lot is the same. And unless they relocate, the won't be able to expand. Nonetheless, they shouldn't try to be something different. It's a burger & milkshake joint....nothing more, nothing less.
Being completely subjective, I have traveled around the country and been to many other similar venues....none of them are as tasty as Cougar Country, IMO. If I lived in Pullman, I would probably weigh 400 lbs, not the svelte 220 I currently carry.
Glad Cougar
Being completely subjective, I have traveled around the country and been to many other similar venues....none of them are as tasty as Cougar Country, IMO. If I lived in Pullman, I would probably weigh 400 lbs, not the svelte 220 I currently carry.
Glad Cougar
I know that you are just throwing out suggestions, but that place is so niche that it doesn't make sense to spend a bunch of money changing who they are. As mentioned above, there is not enough room to handle large crowds and they have limited parking. The best thing that they can spend money on is figuring out how to get people served quickly and out the door rather than trying to figure out what would make people want to sit around longer.
https://www.google.com/maps/@46.735...4!1sCpSKZcI40ahmFUyMiJn9zA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
https://www.google.com/maps/@46.736...4!1szjXehL-CQQI4ZGGVibDjzQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
https://www.google.com/maps/@46.7359864,-117.1753023,73m/data=!3m1!1e3
I don't know how those links above will work, but at the end of the day, there is parking for maybe 20 cars around that building if you pack them so tight that it's dangerous. Inside, you can seat maybe 50 people. On gamedays, people will park at nearby businesses and walk over but Grand Avenue is not safe to cross in that area, so even that overflow parking is limited. If the buyers had any thoughts of trying to change the business model to anything remotely close to what you are suggesting......they bought the wrong building.
All I know is that back in the day, The Coug sold more beer per square foot than anywhere in the country - and they had at most 3 taps, plastic pitchers and a video game that generally was unused.
Cheap beer and coeds was good enough.
Like Leach running five plays to perfection. Keep it simple and execute.
The drive up window is in the wrong spot. Parking will always be a problem. 1.9 million is a ton to spend on that building regardless of the business model.
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The Coug might be in a better location for that kind of statistic to play out. I agree that Cougar Country's new owners need to figure out what they want to do.....and do it well.
I'm taking In-N-Out dollar for dollar with any burger.
And for you Vancouver/Portland area folks...yes, INO is much better than Burgerville.
Animal Style!!! In and out is amazing. But my favorite burger ever is Frisco Freeze. Haven’t been there in thirty years but damn they were good.
I was more referencing mike's multi-screen If If If IF IF IFFFFF recipe for a popular spot.
I've discovered a new burger haven: Shake Shack. Since my relocation to the Midwest, I had a chance to dine at the SS at the Mall of America. Memorable.
Looks like there's one in Seattle on Lake Union.
Glad Cougar
I was there in the 70s when they opened too. Their competition was A&W, Arctic Circle and the legendary Burgerville. Fifty years later, all of those places are gone, and my point is that there is a ton of competition in Pullman/Moscow. Honestly I think people are willing to pay a little more then back in the day, and might want a brew instead of a milkshake along with their burger. They need to think carefully about their menu (way too large, with the clam strips, ect), and who they are catering to. Big crowds on six or seven home football games just isn't going to cut it.
This is a board where people discuss things. It isn't a party. You're asking stupid questions that could be answered in two seconds yourself. It's not endearing, contributing to the conversation, or whatever other justification you might tell us or yourself. It's annoying. No, putting you on ignore isn't enough. You screw up most of the threads on here.
Shake Shack is solid. Started on the east coast and has moved out west gradually.
I'm not an INO fan. The burgers are OK, not amazing, and the fries suck. I don't understand the hype at all.
If you see a Habit Burger, it's worth trying. I prefer it to INO.
Poster A: It's not enough to ignore you, Poster B, since you ruin all the threads on here. You ask questions that are either stupid or insidious.
Poster B: Can I ask you a question? Why not just ignore?
Somebody can correct me if I'm wrong, but the "Burgerville" in Pullman was not part of the current and Portland area (Vancouver WA) based "Burgerville". It was located at the west entrance to Pullman. I'm more clear on the A&W....it was definitely there on Grand Ave. I think the building is now a Chinese restaurant, not sure.
A bunch of my fraternity brothers and I had a weekly routine of hitting all the specials at the popular fast food restaurants at that time. $1 cub burgers at Cougar Country on Mondays, some kind of special at A&W on Tuesdays (can't remember what it was), discount all-you-can-eat buffet at Pizza Haven on Wednesdays, 3 tacos for $1 at Taco Time on Thursdays. Then it was $1 dollar pitchers & other assorted deals at various watering holes on the weekends. Sunday was a day of rest. With the re-opening of CC, at least one of those fine dining establishments is still with us.
Glad Cougar
Was the A&W not the distinctive building they used to have? The square cone roof and drive-in stalls? I’m not visualizing that anywhere in town.
I remember an A&W in Colfax, but not Pullman. Must have been before my time. Feels good to still be able to say that.
A plain double double is marginal at best. A double double animal style is damn good. An opinion is an opinion and I won’t say yours is wrong but if you’ve never had it animal style it’s worth one more try.
And... Frisco Freeze by UPS in Tacoma. Anyone been there recently? Is it as good as it was in the 80s, 70s, 60s, 50s?
No, some opinions are just wrong. I will try it animal style. Im not holding my hopes high.
I consulted someone with a much better memory than me and quite the authority on Pullman history. He says the old A&W restaurant is now Nuevo Vallarta, a Mexican restaurant near Grand & Stadium Way. The Chinese restaurant that I thought was once A&W is New Garden and used to be Arctic Circle in the old days.
And to BSpike76, I think you are right about the chili dog special at A&W. They should have payed us to eat that stuff.
Glad Cougar
Because the substantive discussion of football and non-football topics on here is often quite good, whereas both your direct participation and your indirect impact on threads are not. Most threads turn into shitshows, often because of you. If there was a way to get you to stop being such a hindrance, it would be great. That's my hope.
