New ACE Drive-In Owner Talks About Plans For Joliet Treasure

JOLIET, IL — ACE Drive-In proclaims it's been around longer than that place with the golden arches. This year, the torch has passed and there's a new owner at ACE. He's Mitch Pierson.

He's acquired the iconic Joliet restaurant at 1207 Plainfield Road from his father Rich Pierson and his uncle Tom Pierson. The Pierson brothers ran ACE for 39 years. Now, it's Mitch Pierson's turn. He's hoping to keep ACE going for many years to come.

During Thursday's interview, Mitch Pierson said he made no changes to the ACE Drive-In's menu for this summer. ACE opened on April 11. During the first couple of weeks, business was slow, mainly because of the extremely cold weather, the new owner said.

ACE is open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 8 p.m. on Sunday.

"I've worked here my whole life," Mitch Pierson told Joliet Patch. As for his father and uncle, they are still stopping by to work a couple of hours every day. "Sometimes my uncle sets up and my father cooks from 5 to 8 p.m."

ACE is best known for its car hops. The car hops bring your food and root beer to your vehicle or you can eat at their outdoor picnic tables.

"We're pretty good on employees," Mitch Pierson said. "I guess we could always use more cooks."

In recent days, ACE's new owner said he's noticed an increase in orders for burgers and the beef BBQ.

Without question, root beer sales are off to a solid start, he added.

So what's going to be Mitch Pierson's path toward success with ACE?

"Trying to keep everything the same and just keeping it going, so it doesn't shut down," he said. "Be consistent. There's 1,000 little tasks that you've got to do, and you've got to do them all."

Typically, business soars during June and July after students are out of school for the summer.

ACE typically stays open until sometime in October.

"In the next couple of weeks, when the kids get out of school, that will probably be our busiest time," the owner said.

ACE will also be bringing back its popular weekly classic car shows. The car shows take place in June, July and August from 4 to 8 p.m. on Thursdays. On most nights, ACE draws 30 to 40 classic cars to the Joliet institution that's been around since 1949.