Red's Giant Hamburg facts for kids
Red's Giant Hamburg is a business on U.S. Route 66 in Springfield, Missouri, which is believed to have been the world's first drive-through restaurant. It reopened in 2019.
Overview
The red-haired Sheldon "Red" Chaney (May 20, 1916 – June 2, 1997) arrived in Springfield after World War II with a bride and a new college business degree. He purchased a small Sinclair gas station with several wooden, motor court cabins tucked among trees on the back of the property. Eventually, a café was added in 1947. Growing weary of pumping gas and operating the motor court, the couple decided a better money-maker would be a restaurant. Since they owned a small herd of beef cattle (and would continue to raise their own beef until the close of the business), they decided to concentrate on hamburgers. The restaurant became a staple of Route 66 and the Springfield area until its closure in 1984. Even after the closure the restaurant remained the same as Red and Julia lived right next door. Red died in 1997 a few days after the restaurant was demolished and Julia died in the early 2000s. For a while all that sat on the spot of the old burger stand was a 24 hour ice machine which is now gone.
Sign recreation
In 2013, a fundraising campaign was established to recreate the Red's Giant Hamburg sign. It will become a focal point in a larger Springfield, Missouri, project to establish a Route 66-themed roadside park. The site is located within the city limits in a section of town called the West Meadows area (on College Street east of Fort Avenue). The sign was installed in 2015.
Recreation
In Early 2019, the Springfield Business Journal announced that Red's Giant Hamburg would be making a comeback 35 years after the original restaurant's closure. The new restaurant, located on Sunshine Street/Route 413, will be a recreation of the original Route 66 (Chestnut Expressway) location after it was razed in 1997 after it was closed for 13 years. The project is being led by David Campbell, the owner of local BBQ chain Buckingham's and insurance agent Greg Iott. The restaurant opened in August 2019.
