How we have purchased food has changed over the years. It was no longer just home-cooking that got Canadians through the week, but as the years went by, Fast Food became a fast-growing industry. From parking the car at a drive-in to ordering food online, let’s see how fast food has changed through the generations!
The 1950s & 60s!
These decades were the start of a real fast food boom! They might not be as fast today, or as common, but this was the age of Drive-Ins. That’s right, they weren’t just for movies. Drive-In restaurants were increasingly common in the 1950s, with places like White Spot leading Canadian Drive-In burger restaurants. It was as easy as finding a parking spot, ordering from the menu, and sitting back in the comfort of your vehicle for your food. It was a lot less idling, more “park and eat”; an in-car experience, instead of a sit-down restaurant.
The 1970s!
The ’70s were the time for take-0ut–especially Chinese take-out. While burgers were big in the ’50s, Chinese take-out was growing in popularity now. Alberta even has a bit of a claim to fame here! A Chinese-Canadian named George Wong was the one to come up with one of my favourite dishes: ginger beef! This was at a restaurant in Calgary in the mid-70s, and has been a Chinese take-out staple ever since!
While people were loving Chinese food, they were also loving a faster way to get their burgers: the Drive-Thru. From hamburgers to fried chicken, this was a way to keep the customers of any fast food chain moving. Drive-Thrus haven’t changed a lot over the years, still consisting of windows to take payment and receive your order from the comfort of your own car with a quick turn-around time. It’s been a great way to grab food on the way home for decades!
The 1980s & 90s!
In the ’80s and ’90s, delivery was becoming more and more popular. We had been driving to restaurants for decades, and were really looking to have the restaurants come to us. Some places had delivery decades ago, but getting food delivered really became popular in the 90s with the “30 minutes delivery or its free” model that started with pizza chains around this time. So now it wasn’t just driving to grab burgers that took a few minutes to cook, Canadians were looking for other food options that were coming to our front door ready to eat.
The 2000s ’til Now!
Delivery has evolved from phoning a restaurant, to installing an app. The age of high-speed internet access has brought applications that make needing to talk to another human being a thing of the past. Now, not only does every restaurant have their own app, potentially offering delivery, but there are whole apps (Skip or Uber) that focus on ordering items on a smartphone and getting them delivered. We can even watch our delivery driver come to us on apps now! It’s taken fast food to a new level.
What is your go-to way of ordering fast food? Is it still the same way you did in decades past?
– Tie-Dye Tam
