A middle-class Victorian family at the dinner table, circa 1850, Courtesy of the Hulton Archive
The idea of “fast-food” dates back to ancient times. From peddling Mesopotamian vendors to Roman thermopolia to vibrant Chinese street cookshops, quick, convenient meals have long fueled urban life.
Ancient Rome. Pompei (Italy - Campania Region). Reconstructed ready-to-eat food restaurant 'thermopolium' on the Via dell'Abbondanza. Color illustration, Courtesy of the DeAgostini Picture Library
Before the 20th century, most Americans enjoyed their meals at home, where the dinner table served as a setting for teaching etiquette and social values.
"From the mid-19th century onward, the dining room was used as a place to cultivate a sense of family...Victorian parents used to educate their children on religion, conversation and table manners."
~ Mackensie Griffin, Western Dining Reasearcher and Writer, 'No Place for Discontent': A History of the Family Dinner in America, 2016
But as cities grew, new innovations began catering to people on the move. Automats burst into cities in 1895. With the clink of a coin, a small glass door would open, revealing a ready-to-eat meal.
In a photo from 1945, Broadway and 42nd Street in Manhattan in front of the Horn & Hardart Automat, 1945, Courtesy of the New York Times
Automat, 977 Eighth Avenue, Berenice Abbott, February 10, 1936, Courtesy to the New York Public Library
Postcard photo of the Horn & Hardart automat on 57th Street in New York City, Lumitone Photo Print, New York, circa 1930s
Following the Great Depression, roadside lunch counters emerged to serve the low-income society's need for cheap, on-the-go meals. By the 1920s, grabbing quick bites replaced dining, paving the way for the drive-in.
"The development of the automobile and the subsequent highway system and “car culture”... were major contributors to the rise and spread of fast food restaurants... As Americans became more mobile and adventurous, the new geography led to all kinds of new innovations such as...roadside restaurants."
~ Lindsey Carr, Author at the NeoAmericanist, from Diner To Domination: Understanding The Rise of the Fast Food Restaurant In The U.S.A, 2007
Black and white photograph featuring restaurant workers behind counter and patrons sitting at counter, 1922, Courtesy of the Jim Heimann Collection
Office Workers Having Lunch At The Drug Store Counter New York USA, circa 1920s-circa 1930s, Courtesy of the Hulton Archive
As car culture exploded and suburbanization grew, traditional lunch counters lost the foot traffic they depended on. Entrepreneurs reimagined dining by bringing the restaurant to the customer. The first drive‑in restaurant debuted in 1921 in Dallas. “The Pig Stand” was a full-service restaurant with carhops who served directly to the car.
The Pig Stand in 1927. At the time, the diner was located a few feet south of its current location, but had to move in the 1950s when I-35 was built., 1927, Courtesty of the Pig Stand
Pig Stand #2 after a 1928 reconstruction, circa 1928, Courtesy of Texas Monthly
By the 1930s and 1940s, carhop drive-ins, featuring female roller-skating servers, became symbols of American culture. The system suffered from high labor costs, inconsistent service, order errors, and rowdy teenage crowds. It became outdated, paving the way for fast-food restaurants as we know them.
"The critical thing about food in the postwar years was the building of the national highway system...And then there was the rise of McDonald’s and [other] hamburger chains along these highways.”
~ Bruce Kraig, Professor of history at Roosevelt University and President of the Culinary Historians of Chicago, from Dining through the Decades: 100 Years of American, 1956
