The concept of car service dining really took off in the 1920s.Automobiles were booming, roads were expanding, and people wanted quick,convenient meals without having to step out of their shiny new cars. The firstreal drive-in is credited to a chain called Kirby’s Pig Stand, foundedin Dallas, Texas, in 1921. Picture it: waiters, known as carhops,rushing out to cars with trays of fried pork sandwiches and cold sodas, hookingthe trays right onto car windows. It was a new kind of social scene — eating,cruising, and hanging out in your car.
By the 1940s and 50s, drive-ins were everywhere. Sonic, A&W, andDog n Suds built their whole identity around it. It wasn’t just about food,it was about experience. Teenagers rolled up in hot rods, music playedfrom jukeboxes, and carhops on roller skates delivered burgers, fries, andmilkshakes. The drive-in became a symbol of American youth culture.
Then came the shift. In the 1950s and 60s, fast food drive-thrusbegan replacing drive-ins. Instead of carhops skating out to you, you’d driveup to a speaker, order, and get your food handed through a window. Chains like McDonald’s,Wendy’s, and Burger King perfected this model. It was faster, moreefficient, and it allowed them to serve way more customers. By the 1970s, thegolden age of the drive-in was fading, replaced by the drive-thru system we allknow today.
But here’s the thing — while the old carhop drive-ins mostly disappeared,the idea of fast, convenient food for people on the move only grewstronger. Today, fast food is one of America’s biggest exports.McDonald’s alone has over 38,000 locations in more than 100 countries. KFC isin China, Taco Bell is in India, and chains like Subway, Domino’s, and BurgerKing serve millions worldwide every single day. What started as a novelty inAmerican car culture has turned into a global food system.
