Zip's Drive In (more commonly referred to as "Zip's"), is a restaurant chain located in the

Inland Northwest The Inland Northwest, historically and alternatively known as the Inland Empire, is a region of the American Northwest centered on the Greater Spokane, Washington Area, encompassing all of Eastern Washington and North Idaho. Under broader defi ...

region of 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 ...

. Formerly a

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, expanding throughout the region in the 1960s and 1970s, the restaurant chain is one of few drive-ins that continued to expand through the early adoption of

drive-through A drive-through or drive-thru (a sensational spelling of the word ''through''), is a type of take-out service provided by a business that allows customers to purchase products without leaving their cars. The format was pioneered in the United ...

lanes and transitioning to a more

fast food Fast food is a type of mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. It is a commercial term, limited to food sold in a restaurant or store with frozen, preheated or precooked ingredien ...

business model.

History

Zip's Drive In was founded in 1953 in

Kennewick, Washington Kennewick () is a city in Benton County, Washington, Benton County in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. It is located along the southwest bank of the Columbia River, just southeast of the confluence of the Columbia and Yakima R ...

, by Robert "Zip" Zuber. Zip's was originally a

created to serve scientists and workers coming to the Tri-Cities to work at Hanford and other nuclear industry companies, using the motto "Thrift and Swift". Zip's attracted so many customers, that Zuber decided to build another store, this time in

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Canada ...

near the

Gonzaga College Gonzaga College SJ is a voluntary Catholic boys' secondary school in Ranelagh, Dublin, Ireland. Founded in 1950, Gonzaga College is under the trusteeship of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuit Order), one of five Jesuit secondary schools in Irela ...

campus where it became quite popular among students. Zip Zuber eventually sold the business and after several transactions eventually came to be owned and operated primarily by Ed Minor, Don Kelly, and Harold Fettig who grew the business in the 1960's and 1970's. In the 1960s, Zip's was a typical American drive-in restaurant, where the business model entailed customers driving up to a phone or table to place an order for a

carhop A carhop is a waiter or waitress who brings fast food to people in their cars at drive-in restaurants. Carhops usually work on foot but sometimes use roller skates, as depicted in movies such as ''American Graffiti'' and television shows such as ...

to bring out, but by the 1970s many drive-ins across America were closing in the face of faster competition from

restaurants. Zip's began to decline, but Minor and Kelly built some of the first

drive-thru A drive-through or drive-thru (a sensational spelling of the word ''through''), is a type of take-out service provided by a business that allows customers to purchase products without leaving their cars. The format was pioneered in the Unite ...

s in the

Northwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...

. Their quick thinking ended up saving the chain, and it is one of the few local restaurant chains still in operation today.

Locations

Zip's is located in 8 counties across Washington and Idaho, and was located in 11 counties at its peak. In 2017, Zip's had 40 locations, all in the Inland Northwest. The chain has been compared to

In-N-Out Burger In-N-Out Burger is an American regional chain of fast food restaurants with locations primarily in California and the Southwest. It was founded in Baldwin Park, California, in 1948 by Harry (1913–1976) and Esther Snyder (1920–2006). The cha ...

in southern California, due to its regionality and cult following. The chain started in the Tri-Cities, spread to Spokane, and then eventually spread to the

Idaho Panhandle The Idaho Panhandle—locally known as North Idaho—is a salient region of the U.S. state of Idaho encompassing the state's 10 northernmost counties: Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Clearwater, Idaho, Kootenai, Latah, Lewis, Nez Perce, and Shosh ...

and the

Palouse The Palouse ( ) is a distinct geographic region of the northwestern United States, encompassing parts of north central Idaho, southeastern Washington, and, by some definitions, parts of northeast Oregon. It is a major agricultural area, primaril ...

. Zip's is not a

franchise Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...

and the menu can differ slightly depending on the owner and location; hours also vary, with some serving breakfast. A

Boise, Idaho Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown are ...

location was opened, but was shuttered during

the recession ''The Recession'' is the fifth studio album by American rapper Jeezy (known at the time as Young Jeezy). It was released on September 2, 2008, by Corporate Thugz, Corporate Thugz Entertainment (CTE) and Def Jam South, Def Jam South Recordings. Th ...

References

{{reflist Fast-food chains of the United States Spokane, Washington Fast-food hamburger restaurants Privately held companies based in Washington (state) Regional restaurant chains in the United States Tri-Cities, Washington American companies established in 1953 1953 establishments in Washington (state) Restaurants established in 1953

History

Locations

Menu

See also

References