THE FIRST JACK-IN-THE-BOX?
The History Page on the Jack in
the Box web site shows the photo above and
says "In 1951, a businessman named Robert O.
Peterson opened the first Jack in the Box®
restaurant in San Diego on the main east-west
thoroughfare leading into city. Equipped with
an intercom system and drive-thru window, the
tiny restaurant served up hamburgers to
passing motorists for just 18 cents, while a
large jack-in-the-box clown kept watch from
the roof."
I'll assume that east-west thoroughfare was El
Cajon Blvd.
This snippet from the 1952 San Diego City
Directory shows who was in business in the 6300 block of El Cajon Blvd.
in 1951. Jack in the Box is actually listed as Oscar's Jack in the
Box
John --
It appears that you were correct to point out that the El Cajon Blvd
location for Jack in the Box was the first to open. As you might
have recalled, this where we hung out on Friday nights after the
Crawford football games. Robert Oscar Peterson, who ultimately
started the Jack in the Box chain, already owned several
successful restaurants when he opened Topsy's Drive-In at 6270 El Cajon
Boulevard in San Diego in 1941. Several more Topsy's were
opened. By the late 1940s, Peterson's locations had developed a
circus-like décor featuring drawings of a starry-eyed clown. In
1947, Peterson obtained rights for the intercom ordering concept from
George Manos who owned one location named Chatterbox in Anchorage,
Alaska, the first known location to use the intercom concept for
drive-up windows. In 1951, Peterson converted the El Cajon
Boulevard location into Jack in the Box, a hamburger stand focused on
drive-through service. While the drive-through concept was not
new, Jack in the Box innovated a two-way intercom system, the first
major chain to use an intercom and the first to focus on
drive-through. The intercom allowed much faster service than a
traditional drive-up window; while one customer was being served at the
window, a second and even a third customer's order could be taken and
prepared. A giant clown projected from the roof, and a smaller clown
head sat atop the intercom, where a sign said, "Pull forward, Jack will
speak to you." The Jack in the Box restaurant was conceived as a
"modern food machine," designed by La Jolla, California master
architect Russell Forester. Quick service made the new
location very popular, and soon all of Oscar's locations were redesigned
with intercoms and rechristened Jack in the Box restaurants.
Thanks once again for the memories -- Larry Slayen 62
Advertisements from
the 1954 San Diego State Daily Aztec:
"Jacque" from October 1st; "Jaime" from
October 8th
Iris Jean Wilson
I
was thrilled in 4th grade to take Iris Jean
Wilson on dates here several times. We'd
bike from her house on Mary Lane at
Rockford, just over half a mile. The sky was
the limit -- we'd both get a burger, fries,
and a coke, my treat. I think it was 37
cents each. I thought the food was great,
not to mention the ambience, and my date was
cute as could be -- Bob Richardson '61
(I heard of rich kids like you, but never
actually met any -- JF)
I worked at Jack 16, in North Park east of
Pep Boys, for Mr Peterson in 1965. The 805
wiped that area out when it was built. I
remember being paid $1.05 a hour. My first
paycheck was missing 15˘ an hour. When I
asked about it, I was told they took the 15˘
out for the food we ate. After that I ate a
lot of the fried shrimp. Back then they had
fried shrimp and fried chicken dinners.
About two months after starting at Jack's I
applied and got a job at Gordon & Smith
Surfboards glossing boards. I went in and
gave Mr Peterson two weeks notice. He
offered me a manager’s job at a $1.25 a
hour. I told him if he made it $2.50 a hour,
like G & S was going to pay, me I'd
stay. I remember his words to this day "I'm
not paying that kinda money. You’re fired!!
Get the hell out of here now". Wow was he
mad -- Terry Hall ’64
My oldest brother, Ronnie, worked at 63rd
and El Cajon in the mid-‘50s when he was in
high school. He worked for Peterson and
finally quit when he went to SDSC in '58
because the grease that collected on his
arms and face gave him acne. Bob Peterson
tried to talk him out of it but he smartly
decided to go into ROTC, the Air Force, and
real estate. As a kid I could get a burger,
malt, and fries for about 55 cents. That
would have been in the mid to late ‘50s.
Also, like Bob Z said, it was THE hot spot
for Friday/Saturday action during the
early-mid ‘60s. Lot's of "sex/booze/and
rocknroll" every week. We called the burger
joint, "Jack's"...remember that? -- Lee
Cook '66
Remember
when Joel Zane and other members of the
class of '62 used to work at jack in the
Box. They all made 'suicides' for us: three
different kinds of soft drinks over ice!!
Makes you wonder how any of us ended up
WITHOUT diabetes – Marcy MacDonald ‘62
(No -- But I remember when
Joel opened the trunk of his 1957
Chevy in the parking lot behind Jack
in the Box and introduced me to Jack
Daniels. Quite a change from my previous
experience with alcohol: Cheracol cough
syrup -- JF)
I
worked at the first Jack in the Box on 63rd
and El Cajon Blvd -- the one pictured above.
All the Jacks were numbered in order of when
they opened. I worked at "Jack 13", which
was on Mission Gorge Rd. The store on 63rd
and El Cajon was of, of course, "Jack 1". We
used to trade food with the guys across El
Cajon Blvd. who worked at the KFC. After
about 1000 free burgers with secret sauce
some KFC chicken was quite a treat -- Michael
Ace ‘66
This was the first Jacks. I
worked there in high school -- John McGuire '67
This is the one on El Cajon
Blvd At 63rd. I lived back on Estelle. When
my parents were working on the house in
1951, we went to the jack in the box for
lunch or a quick dinner a lot. The top
picture as you mentioned was taken in the
‘60s. Just look at the cars. I remember them
changing the clown. I think this is not the
original clown head. I think we also "dined"
at the Aztec diner at the corner of college
and El Cajon. They had carhop service.
During my college days, I worked at the
Wilshire gas station down the street.
Sometimes I would walk home via the Jack in
the Box, and get some of their greasy tacos.
I could down three before I got home -- Pat
Chambers ‘60
In the ‘50s hamburgers were
19 cents at Don's on 54th and El Cajon. We
would sometimes walk up to Don's after
school on our way home and buy a 19-cent
hamburger with our lunch money. We only
bought a 6-cent fudgesicle for lunch so we
could get a hamburger later! Don's wasn't on
the way home -- we lived near San Diego
State -- but sometimes you just need a
19-cent hamburger to sustain you on the long
walk home. (At least there was no snow!) As
I recall, Don's became a Jack in the Box
drive-thru? And Robert "O" also owned
"O"scars drive-in. He got mad because kids
would hang out at Oscar's drive-in for hours
and only order a coke. Oscar’s hamburgers
were expensive, complete with cheese,
lettuce, tomato, and secret sauce. He put a
time limit on the kids sitting in Oscars and
causing "trouble". The trouble was they were
not spending money. The drive-thru was
probably a result of his displeasure. I'm
surprised he didn't call it a "Buy and
Get-out". I think that is a 1962 Buick
Special at the window, and a 1961-64 Corvair
in the background. Jack's Hamburgers were 19
cents in the '50s -- Jeannine Berger Passenheim
‘60
My family moved near the
63rd St Jack in the Box in 1957. The upper
picture looks like what I remember. They
were easily the worst tasting hamburgers I
ever had -- Mike Fry ‘60
I
remember this one on 63rd. All of us used to
hang out there and some of the "rods" used
to park across the street on 63rd to show
off their wheels. I was a great hangout --
Joseph
The
first photo is the Jack In the Box at 63rd
and El Cajon. I remember being told many
times that it was the first one in the
chain. We lived near 67th & El Cajon and
this place was a godsend to my grandmother
who had hungry grandkids and hated to cook.
We were regulars. When it first opened the
hamburgers were 15 cents, but quickly rose
to 18 cents, which made my grandmother mad.
She didn't stop taking us though. I loved
Jack's Secret Sauce, which I now know was
mayo, ketchup and mustard mixed together.
When I got older and my tastes were more
"sophisticated," I grew to love their tacos,
which were really incredibly spicy. I'm sure
they didn't stay that way when JIB turned
into a national chain -- Mass Artist
This
IS the Jack in the Box on 63rd. This is
where we took my mom's yellow Dodge Dart
Swinger thru the Drive Thru, made the turn
to order and took out the side of her car.
Poor Jack, we really nailed him. I remember
we told her someone hit us in the Food
Basket parking lot at College and El Cajon
Blvd. There are lots of FOND memories at
this Jack's. I remember hamburgers for 18
cents, up to 29 cents, but a meal was under
a dollar. LOVE IT!! Come on, Jack's SECRET
SAUCE was the BEST!! Until I became a
Vegetarian I still ate the hamburger with
extra secret sauce and pickles. Now I'm a
raw foodist and don't eat ANY of it!! --
Rosemarie Lynne Guild Savary '69
I
practically lived at the Jack in the Box at
63rd & El Cajon Blvd. There was a time
they served fried chicken and shrimp -- Dano
I remember the Jack in the Box on 63rd Street
well. I moved to Art St between 63 and 64th streets in 1952. While
walking home from school each day I would stop at Jacks for a coke. In
high school I decided I would teach myself how to drive a stick shift
vehicle. After going around the block several times I thought I
would drive through Jack in the Box. When I got to the window I
stalled the car and couldn’t get it started again. There I sat in
line and no one behind me could move forward. I was so
embarrassed. Finally I got the car started and drove straight
home, parked the car in the garage, and didn’t try driving a stick for
several years -- Donna Smith Towne ’62
This appears to be
the 70th-Lois St. Jack In The Box in La Mesa
because of the hills behind it. Wasn't the
area behind the 63rd St. Jack FLAT? Betsy
Scarborough ‘63
This looks like the one on
El Cajon much farther west -- near Oregon or
one of the state streets. It was just a few
blocks east of the original Coca Cola plant
near Park Blvd. In fact, this
Jack-in-the-Box was about 3 or 4 blocks east
of the Coke plant – Mrs. U
I agree with Mrs. U. In the
lower picture, you can see the San Diego
Unified Education Center and the old Normal
School above the Jack in the Box roof –
Mike Fry ‘60
In the early to mid ‘50s my
mom and dad would go to one on or near
Harbor Dr, which looked a lot like this one.
But I was under ten years old then and the
sun has set and risen several times since
then -- snowyowl
I recall regularly visiting
one on Mission Gorge Road around 1958. My
brother was an infant and my Mom would order
a vanilla shake and transfer the contents
into his baby bottle. I won't comment here
on those parenting skills. This would have
been in 1958 or 1959. My brother Steve still
loves vanilla shakes -- no wonder. The Jack
in the Box is still in the same location but
with numerous updates -- pedalpants
