Drive-Ins: Good Food and Innovative Service

The star of the show was the “Pig Sandwich,” Kirby and Jackson’s contribution to the emerging culinary category known as fast food. Prepared with tender slices of roast pork loin, pickle relish, and barbecue sauce layered inside a bun, the entrée quickly gained a loyal following and became the soon-to-be chain’s signature (and later trademarked) sandwich. A frosty bottle of Coca-Cola or Dr Pepper, another Texas original, washed down the savory motoring meal.

At the Pig Stand the dining arrangements followed the menu’s simplicity. Unlike conventional sit-down restaurants of the era, the Pig Stand offered an atmosphere where patrons did not have to contend with stuffy waiters and formal table etiquette and the exorbitant prices that accompanied them. A simple board-and-batten shack housed a small galley for food preparations, and a detached barbecue pit was used to prepare the pork. With no need to dress for dinner, service workers, such as delivery men, taxi drivers, and tradesmen, could grab a meal on the go without being concerned about appearances. Whether a person arrived in a Model T Ford or a Duesenberg did not matter. Both the patron and the car were king.