{{Short description|First drive-in restaurant in the United States}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}} {{promotional|date=April 2023}} '''Kirby's Pig Stand''' was the first drive-in restaurant to open in the United States. It was opened by Jessie G. Kirby and Reuben Jackson in 1921, in Dallas, Texas.<ref name=Brenner>{{citation|last=Brenner|first=Leslie|title=Restaurant Review|url=http://www.dallasnews.com/entertainment/restaurants/headlines/20100129-restaurant-review-woodfire-kirby_s-3-stars-.ece|publisher=dallasnews.com|accessdate=2012-04-12}}</ref> In the 1980s, it changed ownership to Jim Ingram and Monte Hough, and in 2009, its name was changed to Woodfire Kirby's.<ref name="Brenner4">{{citation |last=Brenner |first=Leslie |title=Restaurant Review |url=http://www.dallasnews.com/entertainment/restaurants/headlines/20100129-restaurant-review-woodfire-kirby_s-3-stars-.ece |publisher=dallasnews.com |accessdate=2012-04-12}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-07-14 |title=Woodfire Kirby's on Greenville Avenue is closed for good |url=https://www.dallasnews.com/food/2015/07/14/woodfire-kirby-s-on-greenville-avenue-is-closed-for-good/ |access-date=2023-05-15 |website=Dallas News |language=en}}</ref>
==History== Kirby's Pig Stand opened in September 1921 in Dallas, Texas.<ref name="Brenner"/><ref name="Jones">{{cite web|last=Jones|first=Dwayne|title=What's new with the Pig Stands-Not the Pig Sandwich|url=http://crm.cr.nps.gov/archive/19-9/19-9-5.pdf|publisher=nps.gov|accessdate=2013-02-23|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130222090555/http://crm.cr.nps.gov/archive/19-9/19-9-5.pdf|archivedate=2013-02-22}}</ref><ref name=Wizel>{{cite web|last=Witzel |first=Michael |title=The Texas Pig Stands Drive-In |url=http://michaelwitzel.com/wordpress/the-texas-pig-stands-drive-in/ |publisher=Michaelwitzel.com |accessdate=2012-04-12 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321005512/http://michaelwitzel.com/wordpress/the-texas-pig-stands-drive-in/ |archivedate=2012-03-21 }}</ref> It was America's first drive-in restaurant.<ref name="Brenner"/><ref name="Jones"/><ref name="Wizel"/> The restaurant expanded into chains all around the United States in states such as Texas, New York, Florida, Oklahoma, Arkansas, California, and Alabama.<ref name="Brenner"/><ref name="Jones"/><ref name="Wizel"/> Jessie Kirby died a few years after opening the first drive-in Pig Stand, but Kirby's family and the Jackson family kept the company up and running.<ref name="Jones"/> The scheme of the restaurant "consisted of a red-tiled pagoda-like roof set on a rectangular building framed of wood and covered in stucco (a fine plaster used for coating wall surfaces or molding into architectural decorations)".<ref name="Jones"/> "A 1927 newspaper advertisement claimed over 5,000 people in Dallas alone had their evening meal at the Pig Stands".<ref name="Jones"/> It was popular for "chicken-fried steak sandwich, fried onion rings, milkshake, pig sandwich and their Texas toast".<ref name="Wizel"/> Kirby's Pig Stands were an influence on other fast food restaurants in the U.S.; today there are thousands of fast food restaurants across America such as McDonald's, Burger King, Taco Bell, Wendy's and Sonic. By the end of the 1950s, all of the Pigs Stands outside of Texas had been sold, but the stands in Texas were still run by the company president Royce Hailey. Hailey became the owner in 1975 then sold the business to his son Richard Hailey. The chain went bankrupt due to unpaid sales taxes and closed its last official restaurant in 2006.<ref>{{cite web|title=Last day for Texas' celebrated drive-in Pig Stands|url=http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/last-day-for-texas-celebrated-drive-in-pig-stands|website=History.com|accessdate=4 March 2016}}</ref>
One independent Pig Stand still existed as of 2021, located near downtown San Antonio, Texas. It had the original '40s/'50s-style sign near the street that is suggestive of the original time period of the business. In 2023, it permanently closed due to the owner retiring and the land was sold to a developer.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Santana |first=Steven |date=2023-03-10 |title='It's time': 101-year-old Broadway diner to close this weekend |url=https://www.mysanantonio.com/business/article/pig-stand-closing-san-antonio-17832619.php |access-date=2023-05-09 |website=mySA |language=en-US}}</ref>
One of the original Pig Stand "signature" drive-in buildings with the red-tiled pagoda-like roof still exists in San Antonio at the corner of S Presa St and Pereida St.<ref>{{Cite web |date=Feb 2022 |title=Google Street View |url=https://www.google.com/maps/@29.4125814,-98.4884466,3a,75y,69.28h,96.28t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sUKKozst7qPenj_exgoXQ1Q!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu |website=Google Street view}}</ref> It was one of the last three in San Antonio, operating as a Pig Stand until the '90s. It has since been sold and now operates as a burger restaurant with a '50s diner-style decor, similar to the previous Pig Stand. Its drive-in awning also still exists but is now merely part of the parking lot.
==Slogans== The company used various slogans throughout its tenure, including: "Quick Curb Service", "Curb Service", "Eat a Pig Sandwich", "America's Motor Lunch", and "A Good Meal at Any Time".<ref name="Brenner"/><ref name="Jones"/><ref name="Wizel"/>
==See also== * List of restaurants in Dallas
==References== <references/>
{{Coord|32.830619|-96.770396|format=dms|type:landmark_region:US-TX|display=title}}
== Further reading ==
* Daniel Howitzer, "The History of the Pig Stands," in ''Texas Monthly'' magazine: [https://www.texasmonthly.com/bbq/the-pig-stands/ The History of the Pig Stands]
Category:Drive-in restaurants Category:Restaurants in Dallas Category:Restaurants established in 1921 Category:1921 establishments in Texas