Walls Drive-In set to return in historic Cannelton building

Walls Drive-In has returned to Cannelton in a setting that reaches beyond nostalgia: the former Can-Clay corporate headquarters on State Road 66, a building that has stood in the town’s historic district for nearly 120 years. The reopening, first for carry-out service on May 17, gives one of Perry County’s best-known hometown names a new home inside a structure tied to Cannelton’s industrial past.

For roughly 60 years, asking where to eat in Cannelton often led to the same answer. Walls Drive-In says it opened in 1964 and built its reputation on classic comfort food, burgers, shakes and ice cream. In a city of 1,524 people, according to the 2020 census, and a Perry County that counted 19,170 residents, the return of a familiar business carries more weight than a routine reopening. It gives downtown another active destination in a place where every storefront matters.

Dillon Harlen and Whitney Harlen moved quickly after the original location closed in late 2024. They bought the former Can-Clay building and began turning the long-vacant space into a new version of Walls that keeps the old brand but expands the concept. The family has worked seven days a week, often putting in 10-hour days, to reshape the building while trying to preserve what made it distinctive. Dillon Harlen said the structure had good floors and strong bones. Whitney Harlen said the early renovation included tearing down walls and discovering the main building was in better shape than expected.

The new Walls was designed to be more than a drive-in window. The Harlen family planned breakfast, lunch and evening service, along with bar seating, dine-in options and house-made ice cream. One side of the building was expected to carry a 1950s- or 1960s-style diner feel, while the other would function as an ice cream parlor. The front entrance was to remain recognizable, and the original Can-Clay name was to stay visible, preserving a piece of the building’s identity even as the business inside changed.

That balance between preservation and reinvestment is what makes the project stand out in Cannelton. Indiana Landmarks named downtown Cannelton to its 10 Most Endangered Places list in 2018 and said it remained on the watch list as of 2024. The former Can-Clay plant also carries a deeper industrial history, having operated continuously since 1906 before the company closed its factory in 2019 after more than a century making clay sewer pipes and chimney flues. Walls Drive-In’s comeback now links that history to a working business, giving a familiar local name a chance to draw traffic back into the heart of downtown.