Before the drive-thru, there was the drive-in. Utah still has a handful of them: family-run burger stands with hand-cut fries, homemade root beer and the kind of milkshakes you need a spoon for. Some have been open since the 1940s and ’50s, and several are now run by the third or fourth generation of the same family.
Here are six worth a detour.
1. Hires Big H (Salt Lake City)
Come for: root beer in a frosted mug.
Don Hale opened Hires Big H in 1959, and his family still runs it, now in its third generation. They grind their beef in-house every day, cut fries fresh and serve root beer the way it should be served: ice cold in a frosted mug. The family’s motto says it all: the hard way tastes better. In 2025 they opened a new location in Daybreak.
Order: a burger, onion rings and a frosty root beer.
Where: 425 S. 700 East, Salt Lake City, plus Daybreak
Since: 1959
Hours: hiresbigh.com
2. Ab’s Drive-In (West Valley City)
Come for: a burger that’s been on the menu since the 1950s.
Ab and Dot Beutler started out in 1951 as Ab’s Country Inn in Hunter, working out of a rented tin shack whose roof, the family says, was held down by railroad ties. Ab brewed his own root beer, and the fries have been hand-cut since day one. The drive-in moved to its current spot in 2003.
Order: the Fat Boy, a quarter-pound cheeseburger that’s been a menu staple since the ’50s.
Where: 4591 S. 5600 West, West Valley City
Since: 1951
Hours: absdrivein.com
3. Dairy Keen (Heber City)
Come for: shakes, burgers and model trains running over your head.
Dairy Keen has one of the best origin stories in Utah. In 1946, the Mawhinney family bought a struggling Dairy Queen. They couldn’t afford a new sign, so they simply swapped the “Qu” for a “K.” The drive-in was rebuilt in 1998 as the “Home of the Train,” with model trains running on tracks along the ceiling, and four generations of the family have worked there.
Order: a shake (look for seasonal flavors), the Train burger and onion rings.
Tip: Bring the kids. The trains are the show.
Where: 199 S. Main St., Heber City
Since: 1946
Hours: dairykeen.com
4. Call’s Drive-In (Perry)
Come for: carhops and a one-pound burger.
Call’s has been serving Highway 89 in Box Elder County since 1976 and is now a third-generation family business, owned by Donna Call Maddox. It still has carhop service, it’s now open year-round, and its homemade root beer comes from what the family calls a timeless recipe. Call’s is celebrating its 50th year in 2026.
Order: the Double Giant, a full pound of beef, with a homemade root beer.
Where: 1650 S. Highway 89, Perry
Since: 1976
Hours: callsdrivein.com
5. Milt’s Stop & Eat (Moab)
Come for: Moab’s oldest restaurant.
Milt and Audrey Galbraith opened this walk-up burger stand in 1954, at the height of the uranium boom. Since 2007, owners Nellie Ballengee and B.C. Laprade have kept the original counter while switching to grass-fed beef and adding bison burgers.
Order: a bison cheeseburger and a milkshake.
Read our full spotlight: Milt’s Stop & Eat: Moab’s Oldest Restaurant Has Been Flipping Burgers Since the Uranium Boom.
Where: 356 Millcreek Dr., Moab
Since: 1954
Hours: miltsstopandeat.com
6. LaBeau’s Drive-In (Garden City, Bear Lake)
Come for: a famous shake on a summer day at the lake.
LaBeau’s has been a Bear Lake summer stop since 1981, and it’s known for what it calls its famous shakes. Get one on the way to the beach and you’ll understand why families plan their lake trips around it.
Tip: LaBeau’s is seasonal and closes for the year after Labor Day, so save this one for summer.
Where: 69 N. Bear Lake Blvd., Garden City
Since: 1981
Season: Summer. Check labeaus.com
Drive-in etiquette
- Order the house root beer wherever there is one. It’s usually the best thing on the menu.
- Expect a short wait. Fresh-ground beef and hand-cut fries take a few extra minutes. That’s the point.
- Check hours before a road trip. Small family businesses keep seasonal schedules.
Hungry for more? Read more Best Of picks, including the best pastrami burgers in Utah. Run a local spot that belongs on a list like this? Tell us about it.
Details in this guide draw on each business’s own website and public reporting. Hours and seasons change, so confirm before you go. Photos are illustrative unless noted. Top photo: Steve Webster, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.