A drive-through or drive-thru (a sensational spelling of the word through), is a type of take-out service provided by a business that allows customers to purchase products without leaving their cars. The format was pioneered in the United States in the 1930s, and has since spread to other countries.
A drive-up window teller was installed at the Grand National Bank of St. Louis, Missouri, in 1930. The drive-up teller allowed only deposits at that time.
Orders are generally placed using a microphone and picked up in person at the window. A drive-through is different from a drive-in in several ways - the cars create a line and move in one direction in drive-throughs, and normally do not park, whereas drive-ins allow cars to park next to each other, the food is generally brought to the window by a server, called a carhop, and the customer can remain in the parked car to eat. However, during peak periods, to keep the queue down and avoid traffic flow problems, drive-throughs occasionally switch to an "order at the window, then park in a designated space" model where the customer will receive their food from an attendant when it is ready to be served. This results in a perceived relationship between the two service models.
Drive-throughs have generally replaced drive-ins in popular culture, and are now found in the vast majority of modern American fast-food chains. Sometimes, a store with a drive-through is referred to as a "drive-through", or the term is attached to the service, such as, "drive-through restaurant". or "drive-through bank".
Drive-throughs typically have signs over the drive-through lanes to show customers which lanes are open for business. The types of signage used is usually illuminated so the "open" message can be changed to a "closed" message when the lane is not available.
History
In 1921, Kirby's Pig Stand introduced the drive-in restaurant, in which carhops delivered meals. In 1931, a California Pig Stand franchise introduced a drive-through service that bypassed the carhops. The first identified drive through restaurant was established in 1947 at Red's Giant Hamburg located in Springfield, Missouri. A year later in 1948, Harry and Esther Snyder of the In-N-Out Burger chain built a drive-through restaurant, featuring a two-way speaker system that Harry Snyder invented himself earlier that year. By the 1970s, drive-through service had replaced drive-in restaurants in the United States.
The first McDonald's drive-through was created in 1975 in Sierra Vista, Arizona, near Fort Huachuca, a military installation, to serve military members who were not permitted to get out of their cars off-post while wearing fatigues. The original McDonald's was closed down and demolished in 1999 and a new McDonald's replaced it.
In 1987, the concept of the double vehicle drive-through was pioneered by Bob Charles. Charles, a franchisee of McDonald's based in Boulder, Colorado, was the first to design and implement this innovation, which resulted in significantly increased per unit volume.
In 1981, Max Hamburgers opened Northern Europe's first drive-in in Piteå.
Another early drive-through restaurant in Europe, a McDonald's drive-through, opened at the Nutgrove Shopping Centre in Dublin, Ireland, in 1985.
In the US, drive-throughs account for 70 percent of McDonald's business and the average drive through order is fulfilled in under three and one half minutes. Outside of the US, McDonald's drive-throughs are variously known as "McAuto", "McDrive" and "AutoMac".
In 2010, the Casa Linda, Texas, franchise of McDonald's opened a drive-through/walk-up-only store with no indoor seating although it has a small patio with tables.
In McDonald's in the UK, all McDonald's are going under an EOTF transformation (Experience of the Future), where many McDonald's with Drive-Thrus will have a third window. This would be where at the second window, the presenter would tell customers to pull up to the third window (if they've got a larger order and have longer to wait), this is known as the "fast forward window". This reduces waiting times for customers.
If you want to read more, go here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drive-through
This is one of those dishes that brings you back to the good old days from the very first taste, but it's today-easy to make! That's probably why people we know make it as a side dish once a week. (And their family looks forward to it.)
- 1 pound egg noodles
- 2 (10-ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
- 1 1/2 cup milk
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 2 (from 2-ounce box) packages onion soup mix
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- Preheat oven to 350º. Coat a 9- x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- In a large pot of boiling water, cook noodles until tender; drain.
- In a large bowl, mix all ingredients together. Place mixture in baking dish and cover tightly.
- Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until slightly golden around edges.
1 comment:
Good morning, Sue!
Some of the best food I’ve ever eaten was in Pennsylvania – look forward to trying the recipe from today.
In an other lifetime, I flew to Wyoming, mostly to watch Trace Adkins perform at a major rodeo. He has a voice like a stringed instrument. Deep. Mellow resonant chords. While he wasn’t the opening act, he is whom is remembered. Vividly.
He proved for all time, yes, White men can dance.
Enjoy your weekend
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