Chick-fil-A Expands Drive-Thrus Into Multi-Lane Systems as 1940s Innovation Marks Nearly 80 Years
Updated
Updated · The Associated Press · Aug 14
Chick-fil-A Expands Drive-Thrus Into Multi-Lane Systems as 1940s Innovation Marks Nearly 80 Years
3 articles · Updated · The Associated Press · Aug 14
Summary
Chick-fil-A’s modern drive-thrus now use multi-lane layouts and workers with tablets, replacing speaker-based ordering with a faster, more coordinated system.
That setup reflects how the drive-thru evolved from a late-1940s innovation—credited to In-N-Out in 1948 or Red’s Giant Hamburg in 1947—into a defining feature of U.S. fast food.
By the mid-1960s, chains including Jack in the Box and Wienerschnitzel had built restaurants around car-based service, helping push menus toward portable foods such as sandwiches, fries and chicken strips.
The format also reshaped car design through ever-larger cupholders and became embedded in U.S. culture, from the Smithsonian to presidential campaigns, as a symbol of speed and efficiency.