Although he grew up around the family business, it wasn’t until after college and a brief internship in a Minor League ball club that Joe Abshere decided to carry on the tradition.
Abshere’s grandparents, Wayne and Mary Abshere, started what would become a permanent fixture in the Lawton community out of a 7-by-14 trailer shortly after World War II.
Since 1950, Lawtonians have enjoyed Wayne’s burgers from the locations that transpired as the city grew and changed over the years.
Alongside his dad and uncle, Joe Abshere occasionally worked in the restaurant in one capacity or another since junior high.
“I started out sweeping any mopping the floors,” said Abshere. “If Dad were in a pinch like during the holidays, I’d come down and work a shift or two, but in school I was pretty involved in baseball and football so that took up a lot of my time.”
Abshere graduated from Lawton MacArthur in 1999. He then went to Oklahoma State University where he was a walk-on catcher for the Cowboys.
“I had had some offers to play ball for some smaller schools, but just always wanted to go to Oklahoma State,” he said. “I tried out for their one-day walk-on tryout, presented my tapes and information to the secretary and about two weeks later I got a callback. I was there for all four years, didn’t play much, but it was a good experience and I made a lot of good connections and friendships.”
After earning his degree in general business with minors in finance and marketing, Abshere was invited to Birmingham, Ala., where he interned in ad sales and was “the voice on the mic” for the Birmingham Barons, the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. After working with the Barons, Abshere was compelled to return to southwest Oklahoma to work in the family business.
“I called Dad and told him my intent to learn the business throughout and open a second location in Lawton,” said Abshere. “We agreed, and I worked at the Sheridan Road location for a little more than a year before we opened the Cache Road location in June 2006.”
For years Wayne’s Drive Inn T-shirts had been promoting the business. In 2010, Abshere decided to focus T-shirt sales that would benefit a deserving cause.
“A few of my relatives have battled with breast cancer and so that idea really hit home,” said Abshere. “And we wanted to donate to a cause where the proceeds would be used here in southwest Oklahoma. We teamed up with Spirit of Survival (the two-day event that provides support and honors all our cancer patients, survivors, and those who are no longer with us.)
“The first day we sold more than 300 T-shirts. We ordered more and ended up selling close to 1,000 shirts the first year and donated $5,000 to Spirit of Survival.”
Over the past decade Wayne’s Drive Inn has changed ribbon colors to promote awareness to different types of cancer and shirt sales have raised somewhere in the neighborhood of $50,000 for Cancer Centers of Southwest Oklahoma, he added.
“I really enjoy creating our T-shirts, raising awareness and being able to donate to our local cancer treatment centers,” he said. “I strongly believe it is important for us to take care of our neighbors who have been taking care of us for years.”
Abshere is a graduate of Leadership Lawton Class XXI and Leadership Oklahoma Class XXVII. He has served on the Leadership Oklahoma board and the Funds Distribution Panel for United Way of Southwest Oklahoma. He was one of the founding board members of Lawton Young Professionals and a member of the Leadership team at Lawton’s NewHaven Church.
He is currently serving on the board of directors for the Oklahoma Restaurant Association, Comanche County Memorial Hospital Foundation, Lawton Urban Renewal Authority and the Oklahoma Fellowship of Christian Athletes and supports the Southwest Oklahoma chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
“Sports has always been a big part of my life,” he said. “I grew up in a Christian home, and try to make my faith a priority. And we do that for our kids as well. Being involved with FCA is important.”
In 2015, Abshere was named in The Journal Record’s Achievers Under 40 and Oklahoma Magazine’s 40 Under 40.
Abshere, his wife, Ostyn, and their three children live in Lawton.
“We’re a highly involved family,” said Abshere. “My wife, Ostyn, is an RN who is a Children First nurse at the Comanche County Health Department. Our oldest daughter Anistyn is into the theater. She was in Lawton Community Theatre’s Lion King Jr. and Peter Pan, she does dance and plays basketball. My son Ace, he’s a sports guy who really loves baseball. And since Maviryk is only a few weeks old, we’re not sure what she’ll get into.”
Abshere said the coronavirus hasn’t affected business as much as many others across the nation. He believes that is because the establishments were set up for curbside ordering before the pandemic.
“We were set up as a to-go business, so we’ve been blessed,” he said. “Also, I think we bring a bit of normalcy to folks because they can come get their food and eat in their car just like they’ve done for the past 70 years.”
While Abshere did not say whether his children were interested in carrying on the Wayne’s Drive Inn legacy, he would like to see the commu- nity thrive.
“We’ve got to take care of one another,” he concluded. “We need to invest in ourselves and our communities to ensure our sustainability for their future. When my kids grow up, I’d love for them to want to live in southwest Oklahoma. So, it’s our job to take care of things starting now.”