Montana’s Hidden Gem: Outstanding Small Town Drive-ins

The other day, my daughter and her fiancé took me to Sonic for a snack. It got me thinking that besides Ford's Drive-In, there really aren't too many REAL drive-in's left in the world.

Except the Small towns. That's where the drive-in game is mostly alive and well. Where carhops come to your car, take your order, then bring your order to the car where you will most likely eat it.

Drive-Inn Trivia Through 1960:

• The first drive-in in America was called Pig Stand and it opened in 1921
• The first drive-in in Montana is largely believed to be Matt's Place Drive-In, Butte, Montana
• When cars started getting heaters and radios in the 1930's people wanted to find more things to do in their car
• The waitresses at a drive-in are called car hops, and some famously worked their shift on roller skates
• Quick food was a new and exciting concept in the 1930's
• Drive-In food was very affordable. At Carpenter's in California, they bragged that nothing cost more than a dime and a nickel
• You could be served no matter what you drove to the drive-in. Even mini cars
• Themed drive-in restaurants were all the rage 1930's. Any kind of theme made the restaurant even more fun
• After prohibition ended, some drive-in restaurants even served alcohol
• In the mid to late 1940's, some drive-ins were designed round, like our very own Ford's Drive-In in Great Falls, because it was easier for the carhops to get around
• In the 1950's drive-in's were so widely used that some tried a conveyor belt system. Considering I've never seen one, I'm assuming that wasn't such a great idea
• The call buttons at drive-ins weren't there until the 1950's
• McDonald's became a restaurant in the mid-50's
• A&W stepped into the scene in 1959
• The first drive-in in Britain wasn't until 1960

Source: Delish

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