Red's Giant Hamburg

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Red's Giant Hamburg
Restaurant information
Established	1947 (1947)
Closed	1997 (1997)
City	Springfield
State	Missouri
Country	U.S.

Red's Giant Hamburg is a restaurant 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.^[1]

Overview[]

The 2013 reproduction of Red's legendary sign

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Sheldon "Red" Chaney (May 20, 1916 – June 2, 1997) arrived in Springfield after World War II with a bride and a 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. Red died in 1997 a few days after the restaurant was demolished, and Julia died in the early 2000s

Sign recreation[]

In 2013, a fundraising campaign was established to recreate the Red's Giant Hamburg sign.^[2] The sign was installed in 2015.

Reopening[]

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.^[3] The new restaurant, located on Route 413, will be a recreation of the original Route 66 location.^[4] The project is being led by David Campbell, the owner of local BBQ chain Buckingham's, and insurance agent Greg Lott. The restaurant opened in August 2019.

In popular culture[]

In 1982, Springfield rock and roll band The Morells filmed their tribute song "Red's" at the location of the restaurant.^[5]

See also[]

• List of hamburger restaurants

References[]

External links[]

• "Red's Giant Hamburg sizzled with food, fun, heart", Overstreet, Sarah, in (Springfield, MO) News-Leader, May 27, 2006
• The Morells video filmed at Reds circa 1982
• Red's, the First Drive-thru
• Recreating the Red's Sign on Springfield's Route 66
• Join the campaign to save the Red's sign
• Red’s Giant Hamburg making a comeback