Before Drive-Thrus Took Over: Dinner at America’s Drive-In Restaurants

Before drive-thrus became an everyday part of American life, a family dinner could arrive on a tray hooked to the car window. The menu, the root beer mugs, the carhop crossing the lot—each was part of an outing that sometimes lasted longer in memory than the vacation itself. This documentary from The Great American Summer revisits the experience of eating at America's drive-in restaurants, especially during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Period menus, photographs, and surviving objects bring the meal back into view, from choosing an order to handing back the empty glasses. Along the way, discover how walk-up self-service differed from drive-thrus, why the formats overlapped, and how some restaurants kept carhop service alive. From A&W and Ken Eddy's to the Varsity, Sonic, Swensons, and the rebuilt Broiler, this is a story of changing routines as well as remembered places. Which drive-in did your family return to, and what did you always order? SOURCES The Henry Ford — A & W Car Window Serving Tray, 1950–1960; A&W Drive-in Restaurant, circa 1950 U.S. National Archives — Arthur Tress, Drive-In Restaurant, June 1973; DOCUMERICA, item 547855 Washington State Library / Asotin County Library — Clarkston A&W drive-in menu, cataloged circa 1960 Nebraska State Historical Society — Karen Keehr, Happy Days; Ken Eddy's photographs, 1952–1953 Library of Congress — John Margolies, Nan Denton's Drive-in sign, Knoxville, Tennessee, 1979 Smithsonian National Museum of American History — Food on the Go; Drive-thru Atlanta History Center — The Varsity, Atlanta in 50 Objects Society of Architectural Historians, SAH Archipedia — The Varsity The Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Ligaya Figueras, Retired Varsity carhop shares 63 years of memories, August 11, 2020 The Varsity — Historical timeline A&W Restaurants — The Roots of A&W Restaurants; Complete History of the A&W Baby Mug; Madisonville, Tennessee, location listing Library of Congress — McDonald's Founded in 1940 McDonald's — Our History; The first McDonald's Drive Thru was inspired by U.S. Army soldiers stationed at Fort Huachuca Army Base In-N-Out Burger — Company history Oklahoma Historical Society — Sonic Drive-In: A History; Innovations at the Speed of Sound Sonic Drive-In — Company history and ordering FAQ Swensons Drive-In — Our Story; How to Swensons Los Angeles Conservancy — Bob's Big Boy Broiler #DriveInRestaurants #AmericanNostalgia #TheGreatAmericanSummer