| Eateries |
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| TEXAS: DRIVE-INS |
| Royal Cafe [gone] Del Rio, TX |
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| I can't find any information about the Royal Cafe. |
| Earl Abel's Restaurant [gone] San Antonio, TX |
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| Earl Abel's Restaurant opened as a drive-in in 1933. It is known for its pancakes, fried chicken and homemade pies. In 1958, Jerry Abel was taught how to fry chicken by Colonel Saunders himself. Later, Jerry developed his own recipe. The drive-in used to be open 24 hours and had the motto "Is Everything Alright?". The current motto is "Eat here. Diet Home." The restaurant will be razed for condos sometime in 2006. The concept, name, recipes and fixtures have been sold and will reopen at a different location in town. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. |
| Jet Drive-in [gone] Austin, TX |
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| Nothing is known about the Jet Drive-In. |
| Cee N Dee's Bar-B-Que Amarillo, TX |
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| Cee N Dee's Bar-B-Que seems to be closed now. Originally, this building was occupied by Twing's Drive Inn which opened in 1957. |
| Charcoaler Drive-in El Paso, TX |
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| The Charcoaler Drive-in is a local institution. There used to be another location in town. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. |
| Pig Stand #24 [closed?] Presa St. San Antonio, TX |
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| Pig Stand #41 [closed?] Beaumont, TX |
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The world's first drive-in is believed to be the Pig Stand in Dallas, TX which opened in 1921. The founder's philosophy was "people with cars are so lazy that they don't want to get out of them to eat." Pig Stands had car hops - young men wearing white caps, white shirts and black bow ties. By 1925, Dallas had six locations and by the mid-1930s, there were more than 120 Pig Stands in TX, CA, LA, MS, NY ,FL, OK, AR and AL. With increased competition, Pig Stand began selling off these locations and focusing on its TX outlets. Around 2006, there were about 11 Pig Stands left.
The Pig Stand's main attraction has always been its pig sandwiches (barbecued pork on a bun). From the beginning, Pig Stands used pig silhouettes and the mottos: "Eat a Pig Sandwich", "America's Motor Lunch," and "A Good Meal at Any Time" in its advertising. Pig Stand claims to have invented onion rings, chicken-fried steak and Texas Toast. In the early 1990s, the Pig Stand on Presa Street in San Antonio discovered "The Big Pig" (shown above) sitting in a junkyard. It was originally used as a car hop shelter at a previously-existing drive-in (not a Pig Stand). He was restored and moved to this location's parking lot. The Pig is 12' tall, 7' wide, and 10' long. I believe this location, which closed in 2006, is still there but unoccupied. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8. While the San Antonio location which is home to the Big Pig is nothing remarkable otherwise, this Beaumont Pig Stand #41 is still a beauty. This one opened in 1941 with a horseshoe-shaped building. I'm not sure when or how dramatic the remodeling was. I believe this location, which closed in 2006, is still there but vacant. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. I don't know if this pig-shaped building, patented in 1932, was inspired by the Pig Stand pig or if this design came first. I believe this pig was in Los Angeles, CA. |
| Watson's Drive-in Denison, TX |
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| Watson's Drive-in has been here since the 1950s. |
| Theo's Drive-in Grand Prairie, TX |
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| Theo's Drive-in opened in 1958. It features an unusual interlocking canopy and two great working neon signs. For more, see this website. |
| Prince of Hamburgers [gone?] Dallas, TX |
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| The Prince of Hamburgers claims to be the oldest (continuously operating) drive-in in the country. They have been around since 1927. The canvas canopies and signage are delightful. They have car hops and homemade root beer. Update: It seems that the place closed in 2005 and was scheduled to be demolished. For more, see this website. |
| Health Camp Waco, TX |
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| Health Camp opened in 1949 on the Waco Traffic Circle. |
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Elsewhere in this section:
KN Root Beer (Amarillo) |
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More TX Drive-ins:
Keller's Drive-in: 1, 2 (Dallas) Prince's Drive-ins (various cities) [gone?] |
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