A drive-through, or drive-thru, is a type of service provided by a business that allows customers to purchase products without leaving their cars. The format was first pioneered in the United States in the 1940s but has since spread to other countries. Orders are generally placed using a microphone and picked up in person at the window. A drive-thru is different from a drive-in in several ways— The cars create a line and move in one direction in drive-thrus, and do not park, whereas drive-ins allow cars to park next to each other, the food is generally brought to the window by a server, and the customer can remain in the parked car to eat. Drive-thrus have generally replaced drive-ins in popular culture, and are now found in the vast majority of modern American fast-food chains. Sometimes, a store with a drive-thru is referred to as a "drive-thru," or the term is attached to the service, such as, "drive-thru restaurant," or "drive-thru bank."

Examples of drive-through businesses

• Alcohol at a drive-through liquor store
• Banking services at a drive-through bank
• Coffee at a drive-through coffee shop
• Dairy products at a drive-through dairy store (notably the Skinner Dairy shops of North-East Florida)
• Drugs at a drive-through pharmacy
• Food or drink at a drive-through restaurant (typically fast food)
• Marriage (primarily at special drive-through marriage chapels in Las Vegas in the United States)

Drive-through restaurants

A drive-through restaurant generally consists of:

• A speaker and microphone, or a window, for customers to order from
• A speaker and microphone or wireless headset system for employees to hear the customer's order (when a speaker is used)
• One or more free-standing signs listing the menu items, called a menu board
• One or more windows where employees interact with customers by taking the order and money and/or giving the customer the order

Drive-through designs are different from restaurant to restaurant; however, most drive-throughs can accommodate four to six passenger cars or trucks at once (called the queue).

In-n-Out Burger claims to have built the first drive-through restaurant in 1948. Harry and Esther Snyder, the chain's founders, built their first restaurant in Baldwin Park, California, with a two-way speaker to enable patrons to order directly from their cars without the intermediation of a carhop.

In 1971, Wendy's founder Dave Thomas opened a second restaurant in Columbus, Ohio, featuring what Wendy's claims in its corporate history was "the first modern-day, Pick-Up Window". Not the very first, but Wendy's crafted the formula for drive-through operations that made it a staple in the fast food industry, convenient for soccer moms and frantic road trippers.

Sierra Vista, Arizona, was the first city to have a McDonald's drive-through. It first opened its window on January 24, 1975, to be able to feed quickly many of the soldiers coming from Fort Huachuca, a military base located adjacent to the city. The original McDonald's was closed down and demolished in May 1999 and a new McDonald's replaced it.

The first drive-through restaurant (a McDonald's drive-through) in Europe opened at the Nutgrove Shopping Centre in Dublin, Ireland in 1985.

Drive-through banking

In 1928, City Center Bank, which became UMB Financial Corporation, president R. Crosby Kemper opened what is considered the first drive-up window. In the page 8 of the December 15, 1940, issue of the Syracuse Herald Journal, Merchant's Bank of Syracuse, New York, ran an advertisement for the newly opened "Drive-In Teller Service" located on the side of their bank building on South Warren Street in downtown Syracuse. Westminster Bank, impressed by the concept, opened the UK's first drive-through bank in Liverpool in 1959, soon followed by Ulster Bank opening Ireland's first in 1961 at Finaghy.

In recent years, there has been a demise of drive-through banking due to increased traffic congestion and the increased availability of automated teller machines and telephone and Internet banking.

Walking and cycling through the drive-through

Pedestrians sometimes attempt to walk through the drive-through to order food after the seated section of a fast-food restaurant has closed. Many establishments refuse drive-through service to pedestrians on the basis of safety and insurance liability. Cyclists are usually refused service with the same justification given.

In the UK and Australia, pedestrians are often served at drive-through windows, if the main body of the restaurant is closed, however this is discouraged during times that the main restaurant is open. Some busy McDonald's restaurants in particular also provide separate walk-through windows to be used on such occasions, e.g. overnight. This feature is used as a security measure on 24-Hour stores.

See also

• Drive-in

References

• Annual QSR Drive-Thru Performance Study