Drive-Thru 101: History

   In today's fast-paced world, you can get just about anything from a drive-thru window. We can get our morning coffee, make a bank deposit, pick up our prescriptions, grab dinner for the family, and even buy a 6-pack of your favorite adult beverage on the way home. Today's consumer does all of this without even getting out of the car.

   For better or worse, the drive-thru has certainly changed our everyday lives. So how did we get here? Here's a bit of history:

1921 - Fast food is born. Walter Anderson establishes White Castle Hamburgers in Wichita, KS. Anderson partnered with businessman Bill Ingram to spread the concept eastward. White Castle becomes the first fast-food hamburger chain in the U.S. and the first to sell one million, and even one billion hamburgers. They were also the first restaurant chain to use frozen beef patties. Since most folks in 1921 didn't have cars, especially in Wichita, KS, they didn't have a drive-thru, but it didn't take long for this fast-food thing to catch on.