What Happened to Earl's Drive-In After Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives?
Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Season 8 Chaffee, New York
Current status
As of October 2026, Earl's Drive-In has closed — confirmed via wivb.com, April 2019.
What the source shows: WIVB reported the former Earl's restaurant building had been demolished around April 2019; a Yelp listing updated May 2026 separately marks the business permanently closed. How we decide a status →
- Episode Season 8, Episode 9
- Aired
- Address 12139 Olean Road, Chaffee, NY 14030
- Website No current website found
- Show map
© OpenStreetMap contributors © CARTO
What happened after Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives?
On Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives episode 'Twists And Traditions' (aired 2010-03-22), the show featured Earl's Drive-In's classic American cooking and its fruit-jar soda drinks, served at a walk-up drive-in counter. The restaurant served the small hamlet of Chaffee, New York for decades before its closure, operating as a seasonal drive-in with outdoor picnic seating. WIVB, a Buffalo television news station, reported around April 2019 that the former Earl's building, closed for years by that point, was being demolished. A Yelp listing updated May 2026 separately marks the business permanently closed at 12139 Olean Road, consistent with the demolition report. A Facebook page using the Earl's Restaurant name is still online, functioning as a community memory page rather than an operating business account. No reopening or successor business was found at the address.
The episode
Also in Season 8
Season 8: 20 of 34 still open · 1 renamed, moved or under new owners
-
Ep 8Dish
Open - Closed
- Closed
- Open
-
Ep 9Momocho
Open -
Ep 10Dish Café & Catering
Closed -
Ep 10Landmark Restaurant
Open -
Ep 10Pier 23 Café
Open
Nearest open restaurants
-
Mulberry Café (Mulberry Italian Ristorante)
Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives
Renamed -
Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives
Open -
You Gotta Eat Here!
Open -
Best Thing I Ever Ate
Open -
You Gotta Eat Here!
Open -
Food Paradise
Open
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Sources we checked
We work hard to keep every status accurate and dated, but restaurants change fast and our sources aren't perfect. If something here is wrong — a status, a name, an address, anything — tell us what you're seeing and where you saw it, and we'll check it.
Record ddd-0307 · checked by Cal Marchetti.