For the History Channel, I wrote about the drive-through (Irish public radio even interviewed me based on this piece).
Dining out got a new look in 1948, thanks to a 100-square foot burger shack perched next to a circular Baldwin Park, California, driveway. There, five cooks worked behind glass walls assembling take-out meals for motorists, lured by the sign assuring “NO DELAY” and a restaurant name that promised exactly what it delivered: In-N-Out.
There are a few claimants for the first fast-food eatery to feature a true drive-thru, but In-N-Out Burger’s first restaurant, with its intercom ordering system and its lack of both inside seating and outside parking, was likely the first to offer the complete drive-thru package.
May 16, 2014, updated Apr 4, 2025