Washington has lost another longtime local favorite, joining a growing list of beloved Washington restaurants that recently closed. Fast Eddy’s in Walla Walla served its final burgers and milkshakes on October 1 after more than 25 years as a family-run drive-in on West Main Street.
Owners Larry and Anna Edwards announced that they had sold the restaurant property and were ending their chapter with the business. They thanked the friends, relatives and customers who followed them through the years but did not disclose a separate financial or retirement reason. The restaurant’s official history said the current location opened in 2001.
An old-school drive-in experience
Fast Eddy’s leaned into the look and pace of a 1960s-style drive-in. Customers ordered classic American food at the West Main Street property, often eating in their cars or carrying a meal home. The format felt intentionally unfussy: a local counter, a broad menu and a thick shake made to order.
Fresh-ground signature burgers anchored the menu, including the oversized Eddy Burger and options made with bacon, mushrooms, jalapeño cheddar or buffalo meat. Customers could also order finger steaks, chicken strips, fish and chips, battered halibut, sandwiches and salads. Frozen treats ranged from malts to fruit shakes thick enough to demand patience.
A family chapter ends after the property sale
The Edwards family gave Walla Walla only a few days to make a final visit after announcing the sale. Their last service came Thursday, October 1. Local reporting described the restaurant as a community staple and confirmed that the building had changed hands, bringing more than a quarter-century under the family’s operation to a close.
The property did not remain empty for long. El Taco Loco, another Walla Walla food business, moved into the former drive-in site. The change keeps food service at the location, but the menu boards, burgers and shakes that defined Fast Eddy’s are gone.
Why Walla Walla customers loved it
Fast Eddy’s longevity came from offering a recognizable experience rather than reinventing itself every season. Families knew where to find an affordable burger, teenagers could work an early job behind the counter, and regulars developed precise favorite orders—from cheese fries to blackberry shakes and buffalo burgers.
That familiarity made the brief farewell especially emotional. Fast Eddy’s was a surviving example of the local drive-in, a style of restaurant tied as much to the parking lot and neon-era atmosphere as to the food. Walla Walla still has a restaurant at the address, but it has lost the burger stand that carried one family’s hospitality through more than 25 years.
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