When Sno Cap Drive-In opened in 1964 it featured what was then a high-tech way of taking orders for a meal: OrderMatic service. Each parking space was equipped with a standing menu, microphone, and speaker so customers could communicate directly with the staff in the kitchen without leaving their cars. When the food they ordered was ready, an employee carried it out on a tray designed to hang on a car’s half-open window.
The Sno Cap thrived, but over the years its OrderMatic system fell into disrepair and finally stopped working. Given the increasing popularity of drive-thru fast food restaurants, it began to seem old-fashioned—a fossil from the hula-hoop era romanticized by Happy Days. When Havird Usry bought the Sno Cap in 2019, he vowed to improve the food with new recipes and locally sourced ingredients. But he also was determined to honor the drive-in’s legacy, mainly by restoring OrderMatic service. When I visited shortly after he took over, it really was a blast from the past.
