Newberry
Zesto Drive-In, the basics:
2720
College St
Newberry,
SC 29108
803-321-2466
Open
Monday through Saturday 11:00 am until 8:00 pm
Multiple
burgers & dogs to choose from. Sandwiches
including pork chop, country fried steak, fish, grilled cheese, & BBQ pork. Baskets include fries & slaw. Fried chicken, chicken livers, & hamburger
steak available. Ice cream treats-
milkshakes, ice cream sundaes, & banana splits.
Burger,
sandwich, and hotdog prices range from $1.65 to $4.95; baskets $3.60 to $7.15;
3-piece white chicken dinner $7.75. Ten
pieces of chicken, no sides $10.45.
Zesto Cheeseburger with chili, and fried okra, onion
rings, and fries
The Zesto chain was founded by LAM Phelan in 1945. The Zest-O-Mat frozen custard machine was
crucial to the evolution of this national chain. Fast forward, and there are still a fair few
Zesto’s scattered around the country.
All are now independently owned and operated.
Zesto was likely the first ‘fast food joint’ in my hometown
of Newberry, SC. I couldn’t find a good
history of the Newberry location of Zesto, but Road Arch website said it
emerged in ‘the 1950s’. My family used
to go to Zesto’s a couple times a month on Sundays when I was a child. We were a working class family, and our Zesto
trips were about as close as we came to eating out on a regular basis. We usually had milkshakes, sundaes, or banana
splits, but occasionally had burgers. We
chose ice cream treats or burgers, but couldn’t have both. My favorite selections were banana milkshake,
banana split, and strawberry sundae. I
also enjoyed the occasional burger.
Newberry Zesto's 3-piece dark fried chicken snack
Back then there was no McDonald’s, no Burger King, no Wendy’s. We enjoyed our trips to Zesto for many years
before Hardee’s, the first fast food chain restaurant came to Newberry. The other chains were several years behind
Hardee’s. I think it had to do with
population numbers. In 1960, there were
about 8200 residents in the city of Newberry, and about 29,400 in Newberry
County. In 1980, we were just under
10,000 city and just over 31,000 county.
Today Newberry still sits at just about 10,300 city, but has climbed to
37,800 county residents. Now we have at
least a dozen fast food burger and chicken places. Newberry even has several “fine dining”
restaurants!
Newberry Zesto's Cheeseburger, which comes with chili
During the 60s, our Zesto had a small air conditioned entry,
where you placed your order at the window.
You could see the food prep and cook area. The lady who usually took the orders sat at a
stool, and was scary stern looking. She was
the great aunt of my neighbors, but never seemed amused by anything. There was a round cement table with cement
benches outside, but we always retreated with our food to the car. Not much has changed, but the cement table
has been replaced by a few metal mesh tables.
We always get carry out though.
Fries
Somewhere over the years, during the time I was away from SC
I think, the Zesto closed for a few years.
They are now back and going strong.
I’d say they are now most popular for their burgers and fried
chicken. My mom and sister have burgers
fairly regularly. They’re very
affordable. When I’m home visiting, we
try to work in a few burgers. What I
love about Zesto burgers is the chili. And
it’s not an extra. All burgers come with
chili unless you request otherwise.
Fried Onion Rings
My sister also likes their fried chicken. We like their fries and onion rings. They recently started offering fried okra,
which is also good. They offer a pretty
good selection of sandwiches, which is probably nice, as well as affordable for
local workers.
Fried Okra
I tried a chocolate shake a couple months ago, but was
completely unimpressed. I like my
chocolate shakes beige. This one was
really dark, rich chocolaty looking, but strangely I did not pick up a strong
chocolate taste from it. I’ll stick to
Rush’s and Arby’s for my chocolate shakes, and stick to Zesto chili
cheeseburgers. I would be curious to try
a banana split though!
Newberry Zesto Hours, Sides, and Kid's Menu
Newberry Zesto's Burgers, Hotdogs, Sandwiches, Plates,
Fried Chicken, and Ice Cream treats
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