Drive-Ins: Introducing America’s New Motor Lunch

Kirby’s idea was simple: patrons were to drive up in their automobiles and make their food requests from behind the wheel. At the curbside a young lad would take the orders directly through the window of the car and then deliver the food and beverages the very same way. It was a novel way to dine. Customers could remain in their cars and consume their meals while still sitting in the front seat.

Of course, the Roaring Twenties was an era ripe for such a brazen idea. Adventurous folk perched atop flagpoles, danced the Charleston at around-the-clock marathons, and consumed illegal bathtub gin at speakeasies. During Prohibition, freedom of travel emerged as the new thrill, fueled by automobile ownership that soared from 6 million to 27 million motorcars by the decade’s end.