ORLANDO, Fla. – Being on year 23 in the news business, I’ll admit, I am all too familiar with drive-thrus. I feel like I can name all of them – kind of like Forrest Gump rattling off all the kinds of shrimp dishes there are.
There are drive-thrus, double drive-thrus, drive-thru convenience stores, bank drive-thrus, pharmacy drive-thrus.
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Whether we use it for laziness or convenience, this uniquely American invention is here to stay, and let’s be honest, we love it.
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Not to be confused with drive-in eateries which date back to 1921, the drive-thru was created in the 1940s, according to AAA. Several eateries claim to be the first, but the drive-thru in its current iteration started in 1948 at In-N-Out Burger in Baldwin Park, California.
The drive-thru started to become more mainstream in the 1970s when major fast-food restaurants began adding a drive-thru option. McDonald’s opened its first drive-thru in 1975.
AAA said that drive-thru windows now account for about 70% of the billions of dollars fast food restaurants bring in each year.
I’d hate to know how much I contributed to that.
You know how to celebrate this day. Do your thing, America.
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