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For millions of Americans, grabbing breakfast or coffee from a fast-food drive-thru is an ordinary part of the morning routine — but not long ago, ordering a meal without leaving the car was a novelty.
So how did the drive-thru go from a novel idea to an everyday staple?
Convenience and an “on-the-go” lifestyle are two big factors, according to Capri Cafaro, the creator, executive producer and host of “America the Bountiful.”
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Cafaro spoke with Fox News Digital about how and why the drive-thru, particularly drive-thru breakfast, became a daily ritual for many Americans.
The modern drive-thru is reflective of America’s convenience and on-the-go lifestyle. (Gary Friedman/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
There is some debate over which restaurant pioneered the drive-thru concept.
West Coast chain In-N-Out Burger is widely credited with creating the first drive-thru, debuting a two-way intercom drive-thru system in California in 1948.
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However, Cafaro and other news publications, maintain that Springfield, Mo., restaurant Red’s Giant Hamburg (the word “hamburger” reportedly didn’t fit on the sign) actually introduced the drive-thru concept in 1947, narrowly beating In-N-Out.
Regardless of which establishment first created it, the drive-thru emerged at a time when Americans’ relationship with the automobile was rapidly changing.
In-N-Out is said to have introduced the drive-thru concept in 1948, although a food historian claims it was started a year earlier at a Missouri restaurant. (Richard Hartog/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
During the mid-20th century, the country saw a surge in automobile usage due to the growth of suburbs and the rise of highways, particularly the interstate system and Route 66, which will celebrate its 100th anniversary in November.
More people took to the roads, not just for their daily commute to and from work, but also for road trips and family outings.
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As Americans ended up behind the wheel, “that really created an opportunity for the rise of fast-food restaurants and certainly the drive-thru,” Cafaro noted.
Despite McDonald’s firm grip on the fast-food breakfast market in recent years, it was not the first chain to introduce the morning meal.
McDonald’s is one of the most frequented fast-food chains for breakfast, even though the Egg McMuffin didn’t arrive on menus until the early 1970s. (iStock)
McDonald’s was actually beaten to the punch by Jack in the Box, which debuted breakfast in 1969 with the Breakfast Jack, a sandwich with egg, cheese and ham.
The Egg McMuffin, by comparison, wasn’t on McDonald’s menus until 1971, when it was invented at a Santa Barbara, Calif., location by franchise owner Herb Peterson, according to the McDonald’s website.
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“McDonald’s, it seems to be the most prolific and the most recognizable, [but] they actually … were later adopters to some of these trends that are so embedded in our fast-food culture today,” Cafaro said.
The golden arches didn’t hover over a drive-thru window until 1975, when McDonald’s added one to its Sierra Vista, Arizona, location to accommodate soldiers who weren’t allowed to get out of their cars while wearing their uniforms off-base, its website said.
McDonald’s didn’t open its first drive-thru location until 1975. (Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Today, drive-thru sales account for roughly 70% of McDonald’s business, according to the corporate website.
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Another late adopter of the drive-thru is Starbucks. The coffee giant didn’t open its first drive-thru location until 1994.
Starbucks didn’t open its first drive-thru location until 1994. (Carlo Allegri/Reuters)
Business Insider reported in 2022 that two-thirds of Starbucks sales happen via the drive-thru.
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“The drive-thru and fast-food landscape has changed in the last 50 to 70 years, and it will continue to evolve as long as we have cars and as long as we want convenience,” Cafaro said.