| In today's fast-paced world, you can get just about anything from a drive-thru window, which is great because lets face it sometimes we are in a rush or we are just too lazy to get out of the car and walk a couple of steps into the restaurant. Today's consumer does all of this without even getting out of the car. For better or worse, the drive-thru has certainly changed our everyday lives. Question is how did we get here? Well here’s some history on the drive thru. The Americans pioneered the drive thru, this type of service was provided because businesses wanted to assure that customers could purchase their products without leaving their vehicles. Amazingly the drive-thru was first created by the bank, which and not by a restaurant surprisingly in 1941 then evidently enough the fast food restaurants caught on to this fantastic idea! The creation of the very first drive-thru restaurant was created by a man named Sheldon “Red” Chaney, he was the operator of Red’s Giant Hamburg in Springfield, Missouri, in 1947. Red’s Giant Hamburg was located on the famous Route 66, the restaurant served customers until they shut down in 1984. The epic creation of the drive-thru option for customers allowed Mr. Chaney to cut business costs by eliminating the carhop service. The carhop service is described as a waiter or waitress that would bring your desired meal to you on foot or roller skates to your car at drive-in restaurants. The drive-thru concept was a phenomenon and spread like wild fire throughout the United States! By the 1950’s restaurants with drive-thrus were very common throughout communities, then before you know the idea of having a drive-thru was necessary and was adopted overseas. Further along the year’s new design elements were added to the drive-thru concept making the idea better. For example in 1948 Harry and Esther Snyder opened their first In-N-Out Burger in Baldwin Park, CA. The Snyder’s were the first establishment to use a two-way intercom for customers to place their orders from a mic/speaker stand. Then the customers would pull up to a window where they pay and receive their order. Now a days having drive-thrus at fast-food restaurants is normal in the 21st century, because of our increasingly fast-paced society. |
http://www.wisegeek.org/when-was-the-first-drive-thru-restaurant-created.htm
http://drdrivethru.blogspot.ca/2010/02/drive-thru-101-history.html
https://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&tbm=isch&q=sheldon+red+chaney+owner+of+Red%E2%80%99s+Giant+Hamburg+&ei=4FEnVaTiIsPSsAXWsYCgDA