"If you were opening a new burger restaurant, how quickly do you think you could get it running? The company behind Hot 'n Now, a drive-thru burger chain that all but vanished years ago, has just made a comeback in Michigan. The company puts an entire restaurant building together in just one day. That's a pretty impressive turnaround for anyone besides an Amish village erecting a barn. Now there are two new locations up and running with plans for more in the future."
"Hot 'n Now dates back to 1984, when the chain first opened in Kalamazoo, Michigan. A true drive-thru, there is no dining area in the restaurant. You either pull up in your car, or you can order from a walk-up window, but that's it. The chain expanded quickly through the '80s until there were over 150 locations across the country. But as with what happened with the Arthur Treacher's chain, things went south when the company was bought out by new owners."
"In Hot 'n Now's case, it was bought by Taco Bell (who, in turn, was owned by PepsiCo at the time). In short order, the chain went under, leaving only one location operating in Sturgis, Michigan. Interestingly, In-N-Out President Lynsi Snyder revealed in her new book, "The Ins-N-Outs of In-N-Out Burger," that Pepsi buying Hot 'n Now is actually why In-N-Out doesn't serve Pepsi, as they had agreed not to compete, but the latter broke the promise."
Hot 'n Now reopened in Michigan with two new drive-thru-only locations in Wayland and Alpena and plans to expand further. The chain began in 1984 in Kalamazoo and grew to over 150 locations in the 1980s. The restaurants operate as true drive-thrus with no dining areas and optional walk-up windows. A corporate buyout by Taco Bell (then owned by PepsiCo) led to decline, leaving a single Sturgis location for years. Fans once drove up to 7.5 hours for the burgers. The company now uses prefabricated 'plug-and-play' buildings manufactured off-site and assembled on location, minimizing setup time.
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