Southern California put the “fast” in “fast food.”
Entrepreneurs like the McDonald brothers, Harry Snyder, and Glen Bell flipped their first burgers, steamed their first hot dog buns and stuffed their first tacos at walk-up stands throughout the region.
Some of those places still exist in something like their original form.
They give diners a chance to see, or even taste, what quick service was like decades ago.
“We have the same recipe for the taco meat and the portions on the taco as we did in ‘54,” said Ed Hackbarth, founder of Del Taco. “The only difference, in ‘54 they were 19 cents. Now they’re $1.89. We should make them $1.90, and I only added a zero.”
At 86, Hackbarth still has his hand in the business. Although he sold the company in 1976, he retained three restaurants in Barstow where he keeps his own menu and greets diners twice a week.
“The thing I really like about the restaurant business is communicating with the customers, the PR,” he said in store No. 3, at 2871 Lenwood Road, where a wall is filled with photos of a former partner, Luther Friend, racing cars in the high desert.
Hackbarth is like the Kevin Bacon of fast food, given his connections to its founding fathers. As a young man in the early 1950s, he was mentored by Glen Bell, who owned a string of hot dog stands, burger joints and Mexican restaurants in the Inland Empire before the creation of his Taco Bell empire. He knew Bell’s mentor, Neal Baker of Baker’s Drive-Thru, who took credit for creating the first kitchen that served both American and Mexican foods.
And he knew the McDonald brothers before their San Bernardino take-out got cloned across the world.
“I tried to get a job there, and they weren’t hiring that week.”
They were friends, rivals, and occasionally, collaborators.
“In those days, those guys would get all together and discuss little things like the cheese price going up and what are you doing and how are you doing it,” said Jerry Hackbarth, Ed’s son.
Hackbarth said the McDonald brothers overhauled their restaurant after checking out a restaurant Bell opened in Colton.
“Mr. Bell was the instigator of self-service,” he said.
“Mr. Baker and Mr. Bell watched McDonald’s over on 14th and E Street in San Bernardino. And they had carhops. (Bell) opened a store in Colton, but without carhops. And the McDonald brothers were sitting outside, watching the operation.”
If you want to watch the operation, here are 12 places where fast food history was made, listed in chronological order by opening date.
Pink’s Hot Dogs, 709 N. La Brea, Los Angeles
Paul and Betty Pink began selling Pink’s hot dogs from a pushcart at La Brea and Melrose avenues in Hollywood in 1939.
It’s known for its chili and its specialty dogs, some named after L.A. landmarks and celebrities. Favorites include the 12-inch Jalapeño, with tomatoes, chili, guacamole, grilled onions and lettuce. Prices range from $5-$13.
The Pinks built the current building in 1946. It has walk-up windows and a small dining room. Walls everywhere are plastered with autographed head shots of celebrities, many of them A-list.
It still has hipster cred, too. Last month, designer Margherita Missoni staged a fashion show in the parking lot.
Information: pinkshollywood.com
First McDonald’s, 1398 N. E St., San Bernardino
Nothing remains of the octagonal building where Richard and Maurice McDonald launched a fast food revolution. They opened their first restaurant there, a drive-in with carhops, in 1940, but in 1948 they overhauled it, turning it into a walk-up with a limited menu of burgers and shakes that could be served at lightning speed.
The current building houses the Original McDonald’s Museum maintained by Albert Okura, founder of the Juan Pollo, an Inland rotisserie chicken chain. It’s filled with memorabilia, including historical photos, promotional toys, and props from the “The Founder,” the 2016 movie about entrepreneur Roy Krok and the way he acquired the brand from the brothers.
Information: 909-885-6324
Foster’s Freeze, 999 S. La Brea Ave., Inglewood
George Foster opened his first soft-serve ice cream stand in 1946. The current building went up in 1958, according to commercial real estate sites, but it still looks like a mid-century business, complete with walk-up windows, blue trim, and a friendly cartoon figure on the signage.
Calling itself a California original, Fosters Freeze and its chilly desserts are burned into the memories of many boomers.
The chain is best known for its ice cream cones with elegant swirls of soft serve, often dipped in chocolate. But the Hawthorne location is said to be the hamburger stand mentioned in the lyrics of the Beach Boys’ song “Fun, Fun, Fun.”
Information: fostersfreeze.com
Original Tommy’s World Famous Hamburgers, 2575 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles
Oklahoma native Tom Koulax opened his chili burger stand in the Historic Filipinotown neighborhood of Los Angeles, a mile or so from Echo Park, in 1946.
The walk-up window, with its steep red-shingled roof topped by a neon sign, is quite a sight on the corner of Beverly and Rampart boulevards.
Tommy’s much imitated burgers are known for generous portions of chili and thick tomato slices.
Information: originaltommys.com
Hot Dog on a Stick, 1633 Ocean Front Walk, Santa Monica
Dave Barham opened a lemonade stand in this 440-square-foot structure near the Santa Monica Pier in 1946. Shortly thereafter he began serving corn dogs as well and dressing his staff in distinctive red, white, blue and yellow uniforms that are almost as famous as the food.
It’s possible the building may be gone by the time you read this. For nearly a decade, the company has been seeking permits to tear down and rebuild a slightly larger version of the original stand on its footprint. But so far the wrecking crew hasn’t been called in.
Information: hotdogonastick.com
In-N-Out Burger, 13766 Francisquito Ave., Baldwin Park
Harry and Esther Snyder opened the first In-N-Out Drive-thru in Baldwin in October 1948. An authentic replica has been built near the original site south of the 10 Freeway. It doesn’t serve food.
“The stand was a space of about 10 feet by 10 feet, a smaller kitchen than any of our current restaurants,” Tom Moon, In-N-Out’s history and culture coordinator, wrote in an email. “We still use about the same kitchen equipment: a grill and salad table or “board” to cook, dress, and wrap the burgers, a potato dicer and fryers to cook fresh French fries, and a two-way speaker for the drive-thru. Of course, the equipment of today has advanced technologically, and there’s more of it!”
A board shows hamburgers cost 25 cents then, cheeseburgers cost 30 cents, and fries cost 15 cents.
The menu is only slightly longer today, although prices are higher.
Signage at the replica points out Harry Snyder’s innovative speaker system that allowed customers to order in advance of reaching the window.
Store No. 1 had a single lane and could accommodate a car at the drive-thru window, a second car at the speaker box, and about three more cars in line. When possible, we design our restaurants today to be able to hold 15, 20, or even more cars in anticipation of our busiest times,” Moon wrote.
In-N-Out is still a Snyder family business, and while corporate headquarters have moved to Irvine, it retains a big presence on Francisquito north of the freeway with a company store selling branded merchandise.
Information: in-n-out.com
The Hat, 1 Valley Blvd., Alhambra
The Hat has become known for its pastrami dip sandwiches, chili burgers, onion rings, and massive orders of chili fries topped with cheese, pickles and diced tomato on request.
The original stand opened at the corner of Valley Boulevard and Garfield Avenue in 1951. It is still a walk-up window adorned with brown and yellow checkerboard tiles and a tall neon sign topped with a white toque.
Information: thehat.com
Oldest operating McDonald’s, 10207 Lakewood Blvd., Downey
This 1953 building preserves the baby boomer childhood dining-out experience with its slanted roof, red and white tile, and 30-foot golden arches.
It was designed for the McDonald brothers by Fontana architect Stanley Clark Meston in their efforts to franchise before teaming with Roy Kroc in 1955, according to the Los Angeles Conservancy.
The giant neon sign features Speedee, a toque-wearing figure with a hamburger-shaped head that was McDonald’s first mascot.
Information: mcdonalds.com
Oldest operating Del Taco, 401 First Ave., Barstow
In 1954, Ed Hackbarth began operating a Glen Bell restaurant named Taco Tia a few blocks from Route 66. He acquired it and in 1964 rebranded it as Del Taco. Originally a walk-up stand, the building has been massively remodeled. It now has a drive-thru and a dining room with a mural tracing the chain’s history. TV screens also run slide shows of nostalgia photos.
When Hackbarth and his partner David Jameson sold Del Taco in 1976, he retained control of three restaurants in Barstow, which he oversees to this day. The menus are slightly different than other Del Tacos and feature “Barstow Classics” such as bun tacos and tostadas with original 1960s recipes.
Information: deltaco.com/history
Wienerschnitzel, 1362 Gulf Avenue, Los Angeles
John Galardi, friend and former employee of Taco Bell founder Glen Bell, opened the first Der Wienerschnitzel — as it was originally named — in 1961 on Pacific Coast Highway in the Wilmington neighborhood of Los Angeles. The brand became famous for hot dogs with secret recipe chili and Polish sandwiches.
The existing building is on Pacific Coast Highway with a walkup window in front and a drive-thru going through the middle, as most early Wienerschnitzels did. It bears a plaque honoring Galardi and his chili.
Information: wienerschnitzel.com
First Del Taco, 38434 E. Yermo Road, Yermo.
Although Hackbarth started out with Taco Tia, his first restaurant to be named Del Taco opened off the 15 Freeway a dozen miles beyond Barstow in 1961. The stand still exists, trimmed with bright red paint and surrounded by an unpaved lot. It’s called Tita’s Burger Den, but it has a sign on the roof honoring the founding of Del Taco.
Taco Bell Numero Uno
After launching Galardi and Hackbarth, Glen Bell opened his own magnum opus, Taco Bell, in 1962. The building, a walk-up window with a Mission-style facade, was at 7112 Firestone Blvd., Downey, until it got loaded onto a flatbed truck and towed away in 2015.
Numero Uno was taken to corporate headquarters in Irvine, where it’s in storage.
It still exists, but out of the public eye. Maybe someday you’ll be able to see it.
Information: tacobell.com/blog/savetacobell
