10 Fast Food Restaurants That Are Drive-Thru Only

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Drive-thrus may not be new to the world of fast food, but they're primed to become increasingly important in the business' future. Simply put, some of the biggest brands in the industry, like Chick-fil-A and KFC, are opening drive-thru only locations in response to a marked shift in how customers order fast food. Taco Bell even opened the drive-thru of the future in Minnesota, not just operating on a drive-thru only model but innovating on the format with a variety of technological upgrades.

Namely, in what was already a growing trend accelerated considerably by pandemic precautions, fast food customers have become more likely to order takeout than dine in. Coupled with the fact that restaurants without dining rooms can also cost less to operate, the developing drive-thru only model could soon shift from relative novelty to standard practice.

It's worth noting that not everyone is a fan of drive-thrus, for reasons including their impersonal nature or the nuisance a long line of cars can pose to a person. Love them or hate them, there are a number of fast food restaurants in America already operating with a drive-thru only model today. From national chains to local one-offs, this list delves into what these existing drive-thru only fast food restaurants are like, perhaps providing a sneak peek at some practices that will drive the fast food restaurant of the future.

1. Salad and Go

Salad and Go/Facebook

Salad and Go is one of the biggest names in drive-thru only fast food, with over 100 locations across four states. As its name makes clear, salads are the star of the show at Salad and Go, accompanied by a few other options relatively standard for health-oriented chains like wraps and bowls. The company's raison d'etre is simply to serve healthful meals as quickly as possible, hence a drive-thru only format. That said, the chain isn't slacking on quality either. According to customers, the best restaurant greek salad is available at Salad and Go.

There are a couple of key ways Salad and Go is uniquely positioned to prepare meals that are fast, healthy, and inexpensive all at once. Ingredients, notably, are vertically integrated, allowing the chain to offer food of a higher quality than normal at a lower price point. Plus, prep work happens not at individual restaurants but a central commissary, leaving minimal kitchen work for the employees at each drive-thru location. The first Salad and Go opened in 2013, so — with more than 100 locations in about a decade — it's safe to say the chain's ideas are working, and could very well be things that future restaurants emulate as the drive-thru only model grows in popularity.

2. Pal's Sudden Service

Pal's Sudden Service/Facebook

Pal's Sudden Service is another fast food chain that operates a significant number of locations with a drive-thru only model, consisting of about 30 restaurants throughout Tennessee and Virginia. A Pal's drive-thru is instantly identifiable by its striking appearance — not only is each building a bright baby blue, but balanced atop a sort of tiered structure are gigantic recreations of a burger, a hot dog, a drink, and a bag of fries.

Like Salad and Go, Pal's plays by its own rules. One way the chain commits itself to quality is by requiring anyone interested in operating their own restaurant to begin training as an entry-level employee. That way, each new location is led by someone with plenty of first-hand experience behind the scenes. Plus, the chain is committed to personalizing the drive-thru experience as much as possible, taking orders in-person rather than through an intercom system. Perhaps most surprisingly, Pal's doesn't allow online orders for the sake of preventing food from sitting and cooling before it gets in a customer's hands. "Instead of us jumping into what a lot of people see as the way to the future, we actually think people are going to learn the experience is not right. I'm going to go back to the tried and true of what's right with the experience," CEO Thom Crosby told QSR magazine, boldly predicting an unintuitive but perhaps sensible direction for the future of fast food.

3. Short Stop

Short Stop

Short Stop is a relatively standard drive-thru only burger chain with 11 locations in the greater Austin, Texas metropolitan area. What makes Short Stop unique in a fast food landscape that's becoming increasingly defined by new-fangled drive-thru concepts is its age — Short Stop's history dates all the way back to 1984.

Unsurprisingly, Short Stop is old school and relatively no-frills. That extends, even, to the fact that each location is practically identical to all 10 of its brethren, sporting a tan-and-red color scheme with yellow accents and red awnings, as well as dual Texas and American flags atop every building. Its menu, meanwhile, is comprised of mostly of burgers, chicken tenders, chili, and fries. Perhaps the most unique thing on the menu is the Chicken Slammer meal, revolving around a proprietary sandwich that consists of chicken strips, jalapeños, cheese, and gravy between standard hamburger buns. That's accompanied by a fries and a small apple pie, similar in form to the famous McDonald's hot apple pie. It's perhaps that dash of unique flair on an otherwise standard menu that has kept nearly a dozen Short Stop drive-thrus in business for decades.

4. Greenlane

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It's not just Salad and Go banking on the idea that quick-service salads are something desired by present-day fast food customers. A drive-thru only chain called Greenlane, with three locations in the Tampa Bay, Florida area, is also predicating its success on a fast, salad-focused menu.

In fact, the menu at Greenlane resembles the range of offerings at Salad and Go in more ways than one. Affordability, notably, is one Greenlane's guiding principles, and any salad can also be ordered as a wrap – though some customers might want to take heed of the fact that wraps are among a number of popular foods deemed terrible for your health this past decade, ultimately equivalent in healthfulness to a sandwich.

The first Greenlane drive-thru opened in 2023, and two locations followed within the year. Plans for five more locations, all in Tampa Bay, are in the works too. So, even if Greenlane has yet to approach the whopping 100-plus Salad and Go restaurants, the potential for eight locations within a couple years of opening suggests that a similar trajectory may well be in its future. Simply put, as drive-thrus become increasingly standard, there's reason to expect that salads will be one of the trend's culinary pillars.

5. Dutch Bros

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One of the biggest drive-thru businesses in America is Dutch Bros, with more than 800 locations in 17 states. Whether or not Dutch Bros qualifies as a drive-thru only fast food chain could be a matter of debate — its coffee-focused menu differs from typical fast food fare, and drive-thrus are technically not the only way to order at Dutch Bros. Regarding the first point, a number of food items and plenty of high-calorie drinks mean that it's easy enough to make a meal out of a Dutch Bros order. And, while plenty of locations do allow walk-ups at a separate window, those function on the same principal as a drive-thru, merely keeping pedestrians out of a line of cars.

As it turns out, what's effectively a drive-thru only model is integral to the rapid growth of the storied Dutch Bros coffee chain. Thanks to a smaller footprint, for example, it typically takes four months to construct a new location. That's considerably less than the amount of time it takes to build even more food-focused drive-thru chains — typically in the ballpark of a year — so it's easy to imagine that the proven success of the Dutch Bros model could influence non-coffee chains to scale down in size. In fact, there are plenty of notable drive-thru only coffee chains across the U.S., so it's possible that the coffee business on the whole might serve as a model for the broader fast food world as drive-thru only restaurants continue to proliferate.

6. Snappy's

Snappy's/Instagram

All in all, there are more fast food chains that run only certain locations as drive-thru only restaurants than chains committed to the model as a hard-and-fast rule. Plenty of drive-thru only fast food restaurants, therefore, exist in a single location. Of course, given a recent surge in the viability of the drive-thru model, this may soon cease to be the case. With that said, one example of a noteworthy one-off is Snappy's, located northwest of the Las Vegas strip.

The menu at Snappy's is pretty straightforward, consisting of burgers, fries, sodas, slushies, and popcorn. That latter item is important because what separates Snappy's from pretty much every other drive-thru burger joint is that it doubles as a drive-in movie theater. A screen around the corner from the drive-thru shows movies throughout the day – beginning with something more family-friendly through the afternoon before switching to R-rated fare for the nighttime crowd. Snappy's, then, is a unique example of how a drive-thru can provide more than just a convenient method to pick up food, acting in this case as a possible catalyst for an additional car-oriented activity.

7. Dash Inn

Dash Inn/Facebook

Drive-thrus might typically feel less personal than the traditional dine-in experience, but the Dash Inn, located in Lewistown, Montana serves as an example of how even a drive-thru only fast food spot can become a pillar of its community. Its history dates all the way back to 1952, and the restaurant has remained open ever since. Beyond that advanced age, Dash Inn's community vibe extends to its staff — general manager Taryn Proctor is a 19-year veteran, currently working alongside her husband and teenage daughter.

While the Dash Inn is very much so a burger spot, its full menu extends pretty far beyond just a standard burger and fries. To add to a soda order, for example, customers can choose from flavor syrups ranging from lime to something called hot-n-tot cinnamon. Side options, meanwhile, include cheese sticks, breaded mushrooms, mini burritos, funnel cake fries, and more. The Dash Inn, therefore, is a testament to the fact that a simple drive-thru burger restaurant can keep its food offerings fun and exciting.

8. Nedderman's Steak Place

Nedderman's Steak Place/Facebook

In Mishawaka, Indiana, near South Bend — and just hours from Indianapolis, the drive-thru capital of the United States – Nedderman's Steak Place is a drive-thru only fast food restaurant that specializes in sirloin steak tips. Notably, every entree on the menu, save for a sole vegetarian option, revolves around steak. Customers can order a shredded steak sandwich, a steak tip sandwich, or a straightforward plate of steak tips with sides. Presumably, such a streamlined menu is what makes it possible to prepare something more often associated with sit-down dining in a quicker drive-thru setting.

On occasion, Nedderman's operates a food stand at large events, so the business is technically not limited to just its drive-thru restaurant. Of course, the rapid style of service necessary for event concessions is akin to preparing food quickly for drive-thru customers. The fact that a drive-thru only restaurant, then, pops up from time to time as a food stand is hardly surprising, and perhaps a business model particular well suited to drive-thru spots.

9. Groovy Grover's

Groovy Grover's/Facebook

Groovy Grover's is a drive-thru only fast food restaurant located in the Appalachian town of Johnson City, in the northeastern corner of Tennessee. Owner Niki Giles told local news outlet WJHL that her business — named after her grandfather — aims to serve healthy meals made with locally sourced ingredients at a fast pace, meant to accommodate busier customers.

In order to maintain both quality and speed, the menu at Groovy Grover's is relatively limited. Upon opening, its sole entree was a salad, albeit with ample customization options. The restaurant has since expanded to offer something called a "paco," splitting the difference between a flatbread and a taco. Beyond just sourcing ingredients locally, Groovy Grover's makes a concerted effort to engage with its community, be it encouraging voter registration or providing free meals for those in need. Just like some of its fellow drive-thru only spots, Groovy Grover's demonstrates that a restaurant can cater to drivers in need of a meal in a hurry while still maintaining an authentic human connection with its customer base.

10. Yellow Light Coffee & Donuts

Yellow Light Coffee & Donuts /Facebook

As drive-thru coffee spots grow in popularity, Detroit, Michigan's drive-thru only Yellow Light Coffee & Donuts offers customers quality coffee in addition to ample options for an indulgent breakfast. The coffee side of its menu includes a standard lineup of espresso drinks, drip coffee, a 96-ounce traveler, and a coffee slushie — all made with beans that are roasted in-house and available for purchase. Its donut menu consists primarily of cake donuts, available in both relatively common and some rarer flavors, like cherry almond. Rounding out Yellow Light's offerings are some biscuit items, including hot chicken, ham, and soy sausage sandwiches.

Even if its real estate is limited to a single drive-thru, Yellow Light aims to connect with its community through regular collaborations with other local businesses. That's meant both hosting pop-ups in its drive-thru space after normal breakfast hours, and popping up with coffee and/or donuts in some fellow Detroit retail locations. As proven by the model's success, coffee-lovers covet quick-service coffee spots, so it stands to reason that pairing fun breakfast foods and a local-friendly vibe with drive-thru coffee would be the next logical step.