"In the 1950s, hitting the drive-thru wasn't something to be done in haste, impatiently waiting for the car ahead of you, then peeling away as fast as possible. Nay, in times of yore, drive-up fast-food joints were as much a place to grab a bite as to show off your car and your company. One epicenter of this era's social scene was Dog N Suds, which remained popular through the '70s but has now declined to just a few remaining locations."
"The 1950s-style drive-in restaurant concept was known for its hot dogs, burgers, and frosted mugs of root beer, which were brought out to parked guests by rollerskating carhops. In its heyday, Dog N Suds was a casual social hot spot for teens and young adults to hang out. It was reportedly also a popular place to go after a drive-in movie - further emblematic of 1950s car culture as an emerging symbol of middle-class American life and its near-inextricable overlap with the era's youth culture."
"Some locations offered booths where patrons could dine inside, complete with retro yellow checkerboard-tile floors, although the row of covered parking spaces outside was the Dog N Suds hallmark. By 1968, Dog N Suds had a presence of over 650 locations. But, when the business was sold in 1970, like so many golden jewels of the '70s (we miss you, waterbeds), the Dog N Suds dynasty came to its eventual close."
Dog N Suds began in 1953 in Champaign, Illinois, started by two University of Illinois music teachers as a root-beer and hot-dog stand. The chain became a prominent 1950s–70s drive-in, featuring rollerskating carhops, frosted mugs of root beer, and covered parking spaces for patrons. Locations sometimes offered interior booths with retro yellow checkerboard-tile floors. The brand became a social hub for teens and young adults and was popular after drive-in movies, reaching over 650 locations by 1968. The business was sold in 1970, after which the chain declined to only a few remaining locations.
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