EAST LIVERPOOL, Ohio – Rising like a phoenix from the ashes, an iconic East End business reopened Friday, nearly one year to the day that the original building that housed it for 40 years burned to the ground.
Richard “Dickie” Bissell opened Gina’s Drive-Thru at 1147 Pennsylvania Ave. in 1984, before such drive-thru operations were common in this area.
He said the idea came from someone who had seen such a business in Boardman, and Gina’s was developed along the busy highway leading from the city into Pennsylvania.
For 40 years, it provided a quick and easy stop for local residents, as well as those traveling through the city to pick up everything from chips and pretzels to their favorite beverages, including beer, wine, pop and juice.
Then, on Feb. 11, 2024, it came to an end when a customer reported being in the drive-thru when he saw a “ball of fire” shoot from the office area, prompting him to blow his vehicle’s horn to alert the employee on duty.
At the time, Bissell was out of town on vacation and had to hear about the fire from employee Marissa Brandle, who called to tell him his beloved business was on fire.
The destruction was great, with the building essentially destroyed, and Bissell said he never learned the cause of the blaze, but one thing was certain.
“I knew immediately I wanted to rebuild. Everybody always loved Gina’s. It’s like an icon,” he said.
Having never built a business from the ground up, Bissell admitted, “I didn’t know what was involved.”
He soon learned all there was to know about obtaining the proper permits, plumbing and electrical certifications, liquor control and health board inspections, all of which have been completed successfully.
Various aspects of the project took longer than expected, with the concrete paving alone requiring a month and a half.
The new metal building was erected in September and, as on the day of the fire, Bissell was out of town, this time in Alaska, and a satellite text had to be used to tell him his new building was going up.
The interior, including insulation and walk-in cooler, were some of the first projects, and Bissell said the outcome was a garage that is 12-feet wide instead of 10 feet like the previous one, with a larger frontage area to accommodate customers.
The area between the displays is also wider than in the previous building, and the office and walk-in cooler are also larger.
“It feels like driving into a big house now. It feels more homey. Everything was done so we can wait on our customers better and quicker,” Bissell said as he showed the bright new building Friday.
“[Customers] like to know you have what they want,” he said. “One thing you hate to tell customers is you don’t have what they want.”
At 8 a.m. Friday, the large doors on the new building were raised, one year and three days after the fire that closed the old one, and the first car drove in, with Brandle waiting at the window, a big smile on her face. She is the only former employee to return to the newly rebuilt business.
First customers Scott Sturgill and Cassie Lutz were there to buy another of Gina’s big sellers: a few lottery tickets they hoped were winners.
Kim Ross, Bissell’s fiancée, is the manager of the drive-thru. She said the business employs 12 people.
“We had a wonderful turnout for applications,” she said.
Some of Bissell’s children are also employees.
Ross said the inventory is much the same as in the original business.
“We wanted to make sure we had everything everyone wanted,” she said. “We get a lot of return customers. When we see their cars, we know what they want.”
Bissell said the drive-thru’s wine variety is “quite large,” and customers appreciate the business for its fast service.
By late afternoon Friday, Bissell said he was “very impressed” with the turnout during the first day of the opening.
Gina’s Drive-Thru is open from 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. daily. For information, call 330 385 6628.
Pictured at top: Waiting to greet customers at the newly reopened Gina’s Drive-Thru on Friday were, from left, Marissa Brandle, Erik Shields, Madison Bissell, store manager Kim Ross, Izaiah Bissell and owner Richard Bissell.