The carhop never clocked out at Chicago's Superdawg. Nearly eight decades after opening, the restaurant still delivers hot dogs to parked cars. About an hour north, Dog N Suds continues drawing customers with homemade root beer and classic-car nights.
A September 2026 report revisited these surviving businesses and the decline of traditional drive-in dining across America. Their longevity raises a question for restaurant owners: How have some operators kept carhop service alive while much of the fast-food industry moved toward drive-thrus?
The Business Insider report examined how both restaurants maintained their identities through signature menus, family ownership, and carhop service. Other drive-ins took different paths, including Utah's once-expansive Dee's chain, whose history shows how business priorities and property values can influence a restaurant's future.
How America's drive-in restaurants began
The American drive-in dates to 1921, when Kirby's Pig Stand opened near Dallas, Texas, in what is widely recognized as the country's first drive-in restaurant.
Drive-ins flourished as automobile ownership expanded. By the 1950s, carhops delivering burgers, fries, and milkshakes had become familiar fixtures of American roadside dining.
Unlike drive-thrus, which move customers through ordering and pickup lanes, traditional drive-ins let diners remain parked while employees deliver their meals. That experience required ample parking, additional service labor, and coordination between the kitchen and waiting vehicles.
Why traditional drive-ins declined
Drive-ins faced growing competition from drive-thrus, which offered a more streamlined way to serve motorists. In-N-Out introduced its drive-thru ordering system in 1948, and major fast-food chains expanded the format in subsequent decades.
As the history of drive-thru dining shows, convenience increasingly shaped how Americans ordered fast food. Traditional drive-ins faced different staffing and space requirements, although no single factor explains every closure.
Those operating pressures remain familiar today. According to the National Restaurant Association, 42% of restaurant operators reported being unprofitable in 2025, as elevated food, labor, and other expenses continued squeezing margins.
Three different paths for drive-in businesses
Not every disappearing drive-in was a failed restaurant. Some businesses changed ownership, others shifted their investments, and a smaller group continued operating in their traditional format.
Dee's Drive-In, its related family-restaurant business, and the surviving Superdawg and Dog N Suds locations offer contrasting examples of how restaurant businesses evolve.
Why Dee's Drive-In was sold
Dee Frederick Anderson opened his first Salt Lake City restaurant in 1932 and established Dee's Drive-In in 1954. By the 1960s, his growing company had 53 hamburger outlets and approximately $20 million in annual revenue.
The chain eventually changed hands. In 1982, Dee's Drive-Ins were sold to Hardee's, ending the chain's independent run after decades of expansion.
Dee's illustrates how a once-prominent restaurant brand can disappear through an ownership transaction rather than a straightforward business failure.
When real estate changes the equation
A related but separate business, Dee's Family Restaurant, made another consequential decision in March 2004, selling five Salt Lake-area properties to commercial developer Phillips Edison Group.
Company president Mike Olsen explained that the underlying property values had become more attractive than continuing to operate those locations. The proceeds would support expansion and diversification.
For restaurant owners, the transaction illustrates how property value can reshape plans even when existing restaurants perform well.
Why Superdawg and Dog N Suds remain open
Superdawg has operated in Chicago since 1948, retaining its signature hot dogs, rooftop mascots, and carhop service. But it hasn't stood still. A 1999 renovation added updated speakers, covered parking, and indoor seating while preserving its drive-in experience.
Dog N Suds in Richmond similarly combines familiar menu favorites with community events. Its 2026 schedule included weekly classic-car cruise nights from May through Labor Day, offering customers another reason to visit.
Neither restaurant's longevity proves that nostalgia guarantees profitability. Both have maintained recognizable experiences while giving customers reasons to return.
For restaurant owners, the lesson isn't to bring back carhops or recreate a 1950s menu. It's to identify what customers value enough to return for, then build an operation that can deliver it profitably. That means measuring labor costs, average tickets, service times, and repeat visits rather than relying on nostalgia to sustain demand.
The history of America's drive-ins also shows that longevity isn't the only measure of success. Some operators preserved their original concepts, while others sold or redirected their investments as business priorities changed. For today's restaurant owners, knowing what to preserve — and when to adapt — can be just as important as attracting the next customer.
