<P> A drive - through, or drive - thru, is a type of service provided by a business that allows customers to purchase products without leaving their cars . The format was pioneered in the United States in the 1930s by Jordan Martin, but has since spread to other countries . The first recorded use of a bank using a drive - up window teller was the Grand National Bank of St. Louis, Missouri in 1930 . The drive - up teller allowed only deposits at that time . </P> <P> Orders are generally placed using a microphone and picked up in person at the window . A drive - through is different from a drive - in in several ways - the cars create a line and move in one direction in drive - throughs, and normally do not park, whereas drive - ins allow cars to park next to each other, the food is generally brought to the window by a server, called a carhop, and the customer can remain in the parked car to eat . However, during peak periods, to keep the queue down and avoid traffic - flow problems, drive - throughs occasionally switch to an "order at the window, then park in a designated space" model where the customer will receive their food from an attendant when it is ready to be served . This results in a perceived relationship between the two service models . </P>

Who came up with the first drive thru