Kirby's Pig Stand was the first

drive-in A drive-in is a facility (such as a restaurant or movie theater) where one can drive in with an automobile for service. At a drive-in restaurant, for example, customers park their vehicles and are usually served by staff who walk or rollerskat ...

restaurant to open in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It was opened by Jessie G. Kirby and Reuben Jackson in 1921, in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. Then in the 1980s, it changed ownership and name to Woodfire Kirby's.

History

Kirby's Pig Stand opened in September 1921 in Dallas, Texas. It was America's first drive-in restaurant. The restaurant expanded into chains all around the United States in states such as Texas, New York, Florida, Oklahoma, Arkansas, California, and Alabama. Jessie Kirby died a few years after opening the first drive-in Pig Stand, but Kirby's family and the Jackson family kept the company up and running. The scheme of the restaurant "consisted of a red-tiled pagoda-like roof set on a rectangular building framed of wood and covered in stucco (a fine plaster used for coating wall surfaces or molding into architectural decorations)". "A 1927 newspaper advertisement claimed over 5,000 people in Dallas alone had their evening meal at the Pig Stands". It was popular for "chicken-fried steak sandwich, fried onion rings, milkshake, pig sandwich and their Texas toast". Kirby's Pig Stands revolutionized the way Americans ate everyday meals; today there are thousands of fast food restaurants across America such as

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Taco Bell Taco Bell is an American-based chain of fast food restaurants founded in 1962 by Glen Bell (1923–2010) in Downey, California. Taco Bell is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. The restaurants serve a variety of Mexican-inspired foods, includi ...

Wendy's Wendy's is an American international fast food restaurant chain founded by Dave Thomas (1932–2002) on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio. Its headquarters moved to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. As of December 31, 2018, Wendy's was the ...

and

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. By the end of the 1950s, all of the Pigs Stands outside of Texas had been sold, but the stands in Texas were still run by the company president Royce Hailey. Hailey became the owner in 1975 then sold the business to his son Richard Hailey. The chain went bankrupt due to unpaid sales taxes and closed its last restaurant in 2006. One Pig Stand still exists as of 2021, located at 1508 Broadway, San Antonio, TX 78215 near down town San Antonio. It was purchased by Mary-Ann, a former employee, and continues to offer the same atmosphere and many menu items as the original. It has the original 40s/50s style sign near the street that is suggestive of the original time period of the business. One of the "original" pig Stand "signature" unique Drive In buildings with the red-tiled pagoda-like roof still exists in San Antonio at the corner of S Presa St and Pereida St. It was one of the last three in San Antonio, operating as a Pig Stand until the 90s. It has since been sold and now operates as a Burger restaurant with a "50s" diner style décor, similar to the previous Pig Stand. Its Drive in awning also still exist but is now merely part of the parking lot.

Slogans

The company used various slogans throughout its tenure, including: "Quick Curb Service", "Curb Service", "Eat a Pig Sandwich", "America's Motor Lunch", and "A Good Meal at Any Time".

References

Drive-in restaurants Restaurants in Dallas Restaurants established in 1921 1921 establishments in Texas {{US-restaurant-stub