A History of the Drive-Thru, From California to Coronavirus

rive-thru windows are as American as apple pie and insider trading. And right now, the behaviors they facilitate—impatiently over-ordering, seeking instant gratification in a warm bag of fresh food, not having to get out of the car or change out of pajamas—are more relevant than ever. Today, the often-maligned restaurant drive-thru window is being recast as both a critical amenity and a basic comfort as states across the country impose new, crucial rules in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19.

“I appreciate the drive-thru staying open, it is nice to have a sense of normalcy in these unusual times,” a McDonald’s customer wrote in a note to the company last week.

“Let’s be real. Lattes aren’t ‘essential,’” Starbucks recently wrote in a letter to the public after closing most of its US dining areas. “But in times of crisis, the government asks convenient food and beverage outlets to remain open when possible for pickup, drive-thru, or delivery . . . [which] is especially important to serve thousands of frontline responders and health care workers.”

It’s easy to imagine that drive-thrus have existed alongside cars since the beginning, but the truth is that dining culture had to evolve into drive-thru culture over the course of decades. Roughly 70 percent of sales at most fast-food spots now take place through the window, according to a 2018 study published by QSR magazine. And, while other states lay claim to the invention, we have California to thank for the innovation’s widespread adoption.

“Before World War II, the old nickel-hamburger chains . . . had offered drive-up window service as an adjunct to regular counter service at some of their units,” Philip Langdon wrote in Orange Roofs, Golden Arches. “Not until 1951, however, when Robert O. Peterson started Jack in the Box in San Diego, did a sizable chain make drive-thru windows the keynote of its operation.” (In fact, one of the chain’s original menu boards is part of a collection at the National Museum of American History as an artifact of postwar driving culture in Southern California.)