Red Arrow Drive In — Restaurant in Cle Elum

Tasty food, served quickly, and for a fair price. Should be an easy 4 stars total. Unfortunately, our experience with the staff was so unpleasant, I could not in good conscience give more than 2 (and only that so the algorithm does not hide it.) Leaving this review hoping the owners will be able to take action, and to give fair warning to others.

Driving across the state, we found what looked like a little historic gem. We ordered at the drive through window, but then decided to eat inside (in order to stretch before we continued the drive). The gentleman who took our order and the young woman behind the counter when we asked to have it served inside were both pleasant. As we sat across from the counter (inside) we noted four young men and the one woman working. They were chatting with each other at a normal volume, so everything they said was audible to us (and had there been any other customers inside, them as well. As it was, we were alone, although two families with kids entered as we left.) The conversation was littered with profanity, which does not bother us, it was just unusual to hear so many "f bombs", "female dog" and other obscenities while eating.

And then it got worse. First, it was a homophobic slur (begins with f), then the "n word" (hard r), then the r slur (for developmentally delayed). All in a short time period. I asked my husband, did they really just say that? So others could hear them? It made me sick to my stomach. I hope the owners will have a chat with those working about 6pm on Saturday, July 5. No one should be subjected to this, and it does not do justice to your business, which has good food, but who wants that if they have to be subjected to that kind of hatred? For the record, the slurs were not directed at us (two middle aged white people), they were part of a story one of the young men was telling. That does not make it less awful...

I’m truly surprised by all the favorable reviews for this place. For the prices they’re charging, I expected much better quality and attention to detail.

I ordered the Cowboy Burger for $9.25 and was surprised at how underwhelming it was - a small, thin patty with just two tiny strips of bacon, two onion rings, and a small squirt of BBQ sauce that looked more like ketchup. To make matters worse, the burger came out without the bacon the first time, and they forgot my fries entirely.

My wife’s Cobb salad didn’t fare much better. It arrived without the egg and, overall, felt pretty lackluster for the price point. On top of that, we were charged $0.75 for a small container of fry sauce - something I’d expect to be complimentary, or at least included when you’re paying a premium for fries.

I don’t mind paying more for quality food, but this felt like a poor value across the board. We left disappointed and never to return. By all means find this all out yourself, but you cannot say you weren’t warned. I always support local whenever I can, and seldom regret it, but that was definitely not the case here.

On a more positive note, the outdoor seating area was relaxing. It’s a nice space with shaded picnic tables. Unfortunately, this is just not enough to overcome the exorbitant pricing and lack of quality...

On a biz trip to Suncadia last week, I remembered Cle Elum had a cool burger drive in. It had probably been about 10 years since I had stopped by there, coming back home from a Chelan trip.

I found my car leading me to McKeans around 11:15 AM;). I learned, while chatting with the very friendly woman taking my order, their family had just purchased the drive in, in the past few weeks.* I thought this was pretty cool!

Knowing this, I figured I'd give them a little flexibility because they're new.

I quickly learned it was unnecessary to give them any flexibility. The burgers (yes, plural, I was starving:) and fries were fantastic, across the board! Good tarter sauce, too! They are fine tuning their special sauce (in the thousand island realm) and it was great!

McKean's will be part of the itinerary on our next Suncadia trip, without a doubt! Awesome hidden gem (not so hidden, it's 90 seconds off/on I-90 going east or west)!

*As I briefly ran thru some of the "past owner" reviews, be sure to note this place is under "brand new ownership." Important to remember, (if you're a burger lover) so you don't mistakenly pass on this burger spot next time you're in or passing thru Cle Elum! No...