My first fast food was McDonald’s in about 1963, a Red Barn opened next door to the McDonald’s a year later.
This town was relatively franchise-free until the late 60s, when a McDonald’s raised its greasy head. That said, there were two outlets for chain food, and you had to go some to get to them. The first was an A&W drive-in, which was worth the trip for the root beer. The other, which was my first taste of fast food, was a Dairy Queen, incomprehensibly located about 15 miles outside of Anchorage in a one-horse wide spot in the road where my brother lived. Seriously, the place boasted some trailers and some houses like my brother’s that had no running water, a gas station and the aforementioned DQ. I used to spend summers at his place and would live for when I would have enough change to go up there and get a cone. This would have been in the very early 60s. The most expensive cone they had was a huge swirl that looked to be a foot high and it cost the huge sum of $.50. I had one once.
I had forgotten Dairy Queen, maybe because I think of it more for the diary stuff than the “fast food” component of what they serve. But I remember DQ’s in Alabama as far back as the 50’s. Foot long hot dogs were what we usually got there in the way of food, but pints of “hard frozen vanilla” and Dilly bars, not to mention all the various cones and flavors were the main reasons to go there.
Also, root beer places in those days included a “Dog n’ Suds” where again it was hot dogs more than burgers and other stuff. I’m having trouble placing a franchise burger outfit that far back in time in that area. Burgers were still a grill/cafe/restaurant item peculiar to the place and subject to variation from visit to visit. There were indeed places better known for their burgers, but they were one-off types of places. Greasy spoons mostly. Except for Krystal. I didn’t know about White Castle until the 80’s.
A&W drive-in here too, probably in the early 60’s. The carhops didn’t wear roller skates, but we thought it was pretty cool anyway. The root beer floats were awesome, and they made a good fish sandwich. It was my first taste of tartar sauce and I felt like quite the sophisticate.
Man, I really miss the old joint out on the highway called “Charco-Burger”. It was the real deal flame-broiled fresh burger, juicy, hot and tasty. Secret Sauce would run down your arm and drip off your elbow. And a basket of fries big enough for three people. McD’s ran them out of business, of course.
First fast food I remember distinctly was A&W, early '60s. We’d go to Lake Shasta every year, driving up Highway 99 (because I-5 wasn’t built yet–gods, I’m old!) in the searing heat, three kids and a huge German Shepherd in the back seat of the Olds, towing a boat. We’d stop at the A&W and the carhops would bring out the food–the whole Burger Family thing and those icy cold frosted mugs of root beer that’d give you a brain freeze if you drank it too fast. No ice, never, that was blasphemy–just an icy mug and maybe a slug of soft serve vanilla if the 'rents were feeling generous. There are still a few A&Ws around, but the root beer is nothing like it used to be, dammit.
Foster’s Freeze and Dairy Queen were definitely around when I was a youngun. I never liked them much because I didn’t really like vanilla ice cream and they didn’t do any chocolate. Then came Taco Bell, back when there were only 8 or so items served and they were listed on individual placards above the cashier with a picture of each item and a phonetic pronunciation guide–“TAH-co,” “burr-EE-toh,” and so on, the only one that didn’t explain how to pronounce it was the Bell Beefer, which I guess was a taco meat hamburger type thing–I never ate one. As I recall, the first time I noticed the prices every item was $.18!
I remember .15 single Baskin-Robbins cones, too.
Oh, Chicken Delite was a biggy when I was little, the whole “Don’t cook tonight, call Chicken Delite!” thing and having the guy bring the food to the house. As I recall, it was much better chicken than KFC had when they finally showed up. Pizza was from the original (downtown Sacramento) Shakey’s, not fast food but they had the player piano and the guy’s in striped shirts and we just thought it was the bomb. First song I ever played on a table jukebox was “Windy” by the Association, at a Shakey’s in San Rafael.
Wow, nostalgia for defunct fast food chains, I must be sleep deprived! 