Seth Woodward, owner of Wonder Whip, loves to bring families together. He has launched an event called Cars and Cones to do just that on the fourth Saturday of every month — with the next one set for tomorrow.
“In bigger cities, there have been Cars and Coffee on Saturday mornings,” Woodward said. “We launched Cars and Cones last month and had a pretty good turnout. This Saturday from 2-4 p.m., we will have our second event. People can stop by and enjoy an ice cream cone or have a milkshake.”
Woodward said it’s an old-fashioned cruise-in and cruise-out event, a chance to enjoy a treat with family and take it all in.
“We have hosted a car show every year since 2016,” he said. “We wanted to do more than that. This isn’t really designed to just be a car show. We have a big parking lot. If you want to cruise in, we will be here the fourth Saturday of every month. Some bring their cars and show it off, others come to see the cars.”
Local cruise-in events take place on the first Saturday of the month downtown, the second Saturday at Lowes, and the third Saturday at Ritzy’s. Woodward says that bringing an event to Owensboro on the fourth Saturday of every month gives people an opportunity to attend an event like this each weekend.
“If we have five people show up, fine. If we have five hundred, even better,” he said. “It’s really cool to see the filling station as the backdrop.”
When Woodward took over Wonder Whip in February 2016, it had been closed for five months with the uncertainty of what the future was.
“We bought it, reopened it, and here we are still alive and kicking,” he said. “The day we reopened, we were lucky people showed up. We were glad to have the support of the community. Last year when COVID hit and everything switched to drive-thru and take out, things went bananas and we stayed busy.”
Since then, the goal has been to bring families together, looking for a way to grow the business and make memories.
This led Woodward to the filling station, which was installed in April. At about 100 years old, the standard oil filling station is from around the ’20s or ’30s.
“I bought it in Illinois from a guy who found it a couple years ago and had plans to restore it,” he said. “It’s perfect as installation art or a photo prop. We are working on some creative projects for the future that will showcase the restaurant and the filling station behind it.”
The Cars and Cones event will take place through October. Woodward is excited to continue creating an atmosphere for family and friends to gather, which has taken place on this property since 1955.
“I have heard stories like someone’s grandma used to work here, and someone’s parents met here and got married,” he said. “I enjoy that part, coupling it with the business and history of the building and the property.”
