Krystal lovers in Greenville, South Carolina can rejoice as the brand new Krystal drive-in, drive-thru and dine-in officially opened its doors today at 6 a.m. and is now serving up delicious menu items hot off the grill.

The state-of-the-art restaurant features a full-service drive-in with classic carhop service, in-your-vehicle Wi-Fi internet access and digital menu boards with integrated TVs positioned directly in front of each parking space.

Not only that, the new restaurant (which is only one of three in the nation) is serving up an expanded menu that includes brand new items.  This, of course, is in addition to the popular Krystal favorites, such as Krystal burgers, Krystal Chiks and Pups.

The new menu choices now available include items such as: Hot ‘N Country Wings®, chicken wings covered in a deliciously crispy and spicy breading; Krystal Smoothies®, a line up of all-natural, all-fruit smoothie beverages; Mac ‘N Cheese Wedges®, small, tasty wedges of fried mac ‘n cheese bites; RockSlides®, a line of ice cream-based beverages that include mix-ins such as M&Ms, Butterfinger and Snickers; and Krystal Toaster Sandwiches®, a variety of Krystal-sized sandwiches served on toasted bread including Philly Cheesesteak, Turkey Club, Grilled Cheese, BLT and Grilled Bacon and Cheese.

The new Krystal also includes a full-service drive-in for those who need a quick meal on the go as well as a traditional dining room for those who want to eat in.

So for those in the Greenville area, there’s a new place to eat in town.  Why not stop by today and let us know what your favorite part of the new Krystal is.  Is it drive-in? The new menu items? Or maybe both?

The day has finally come.

After giving away more than $5,000 in free food gift cards to 600 or so of our closest San Antonio friends on Saturday, the doors to the brand new Krystal Drive-In opened first thing Monday morning.

So, we’d like to present our Top Ten Reasons for Eating at the San Antonio Krystal Drive-In:

10.) It’s the only Krystal Drive-In in the state of Texas.

9.) After Saturday, you and everyone in your family have a gift card for a free menu item.

8.) Krystal Chiks.

7.) New items on the menu like Mac ‘n Cheese Wedges, Krystal-sized toasted sandwiches, Smoothies and Hot ‘n Country Wings.

6.) You can surf the Web in your car (or the dining room) thanks to Krystal’s free Wi-Fi.

5.) We’ll be open after the late showing of The Dark Knight.

4.) Where else can you get a Banana Pudding MilkQuake?

3.) You can watch TV in your car thanks to the digital menu boards in each parking stall.

2.) You don’t have to speak fluent “drive-thru speaker box” because a Carhop, meaning a real, live person, takes your order.

And the number one reason you should eat at the San Antonio Krystal Drive-In…after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

For those of you wishing you had just ONE more Krystal burger to enjoy after devouring the #1 combo - you’re in luck.

This week Krystal introduced a new combo meal that includes five Krystal burgers, your choice of a medium side (like fries or a salad) and a medium drink, all for only - you guessed it -  five bucks.

The combo is currently available.

So next time you visit Krystal (like, say today for lunch?) be prepared to tell your “First Love” combo to step aside, there’s a new combo in town and she’s giving you more Krystal burger love for less.

Imagine our surprise when we opened our mailbag late last night and found this little gem.

Oh what a great sight
such cute tiny hamburgers
eaten in one bite

This wonderful haiku was written by Mary Catharine in Americus, GA. Many thanks and keep the emails coming Krystal lovers!

We posted a photo on Tuesday of a chihuahua standing on cheeseburgers. The picture was part of a series photographed by William Hundley titled “w/cheeseburger”. You can see the collection on Flickr. And, well, what can we say? We were inspired to take our own photographs, using Cheese Krystals of course.

You can see our  “w/Cheese Krystals” set here on Flickr.

Of note: We tried to convince our chocolate lab Java to stand on the Cheese Krystals, but she wouldn’t have it. This is all she would give us, which is pretty impressive considering Krystal burgers are her favorite. Don’t worry, she rewarded herself after the photo shoot by promptly gobbling the burgers - ALL of the burgers.

We saw this amazing contraption and immediately thought about how perfect it would be for a Memorial Day weekend spent at the lake. It’s called the bbq-donut, and the technical term to describe it is a “water activity platform”, whatever that is.

Basically it’s a round raft (12 feet in diameter) that seats 10 people and carries a table, a low-smoke charcoal grill and eight storage boxes for your food and drinks, which are tucked away under the seats. There is also an on board sound system, and the raft is propelled by an electric motor.

Pretty awesome right? Just imagine grabbing some friends, some Krystal burgers and spending the weekend puttering away on the lake on your bbq-donut. Although, we think we’d have to call it something else. Bbq and donut just don’t work together.

If we’ve said it once, we’ve said it twice - imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and after seeing this article we’re flattered…again.

It appears as though a fast food company (ahem, Burger King we’re looking at you) is “rolling out what it claims to be the first burger made for sharing”. Called the 6 Pack, the meal consists of one big Aberdeen Angus patty inside six rolls, stuck together to allow consumers to tear off portions.

Perhaps the Burger King got this idea after his recent visit to Krystal? We’re pretty sure he ordered a Sackful, which Krystal created in 1932 for the sole purpose of sharing with family and friends. Or, could it have been a large order of Krystal Pups or the Mix ‘n Match Combo that inspired the King’s new concept? All we know is Krystal has been in the business of creating food to share for over 75 years now, so we’re actually a little surprised it has taken another company this long.

Now the 6 Pack is only being rolled out in the UK, Spain and Germany, so those of us in the U.S. won’t get a look at the new burger. That’s alright though, if you’re in the mood for some food sharing, just head on over to Krystal — not only will you be able to choose between burgers, Chiks and Pups to share, but you won’t have to bother with tearing them apart like you do with BK’s 6 Pack.

And you know, we shouldn’t be surprised by this latest creation of the Burger King’s. This isn’t the first time he’s used Krystal as a source of inspiration. Take a gander at this. Yeah, it’s Burger King’s FryPod, the container he “invented” to make enjoying fries on-the-go easy and convenient. You know, one that fits perfectly inside your car’s cup holder. Sound familiar? Yeah, it’s just like the fry container Krystal has been using for years and years. Curious, don’t you think? What’s next King? Breakfast menu items stacked in a bowl so that you can mix them together or enjoy layer by layer? Don’t even think about it.

Now for more about that Krystal Drive-In, Drive-Thru and Dine-In we promised to tell you about earlier in the week. You know, the one in Chattanooga that recently earned recognition for the cool menu boards that have individual TVs integrated into them. Yeah, that one.

The modern, new Krystal Drive-In design was the brainchild of Fred Exum Jr., the company’s President and CEO, and was created as a way to serve up the ultimate Krystal experience for customers while at the same time building upon the company’s history of hospitality.

As one of the pioneers of the original drive-In concept (Krystal operated a number of drive-in units throughout the South from 1952 through the early ’60s), the new Krystal Drive-In pays homage to the company’s heritage by featuring dedicated Carhop servers who personally take orders right at your vehicle rather than you having to say your order into a speaker.

In adding a modern new twist to the location, each of the 14 parking stalls feature a large, three-panel menu and digital media board (yes, the award winning one) positioned directly in front of the parking space, making it easy for everyone in the car to view. The 32-inch LCD screens also feature individual TVs (as we told you about earlier), and to hear the programming, you simply tune your car stereo to a specified frequency.

That’s not it. Like all Krystal locations, customers have access to free Wi-Fi and at this drive-in, your car in no exception.

So yes, you can watch TV, surf the web and chow down on your favorite Krystal food items without ever stepping foot out of your car.

And just when you think it couldn’t get any better, it does. The Krystal Drive-In features an expanded menu. So in addition to Krystal burgers, Chiks, Pups, Scramblers - you know, the favorites - Krystal has added items such as a full line of real fruit smoothies, icy cold floats, ice cream sundaes and Krystal-sized toasted sandwiches for breakfast, lunch, dinner and late night.

Along with the drive-in, this location features a 38-seat dining room (complete with a digital jukebox), and a traditional drive-thru.

So where exactly is this super, mega Krystal located so you can plan your next road trip? The address is 5401 Brainerd Road, Chattanooga. Here’s a map.

Whether it’s a post about a delicious MilkQuake someone enjoyed that day, or a mention of how they’re surfing the web at one of our locations, we love reading what folks are writing about Krystal on their blogs.

It’s not so much of an ego thing, but more about the warm, fuzzy feeling we get from knowing that Krystal plays a role in people’s day-to-day lives.

Below are a few links to some blogs that have mentioned Krystal recently. We’re sure there are more, but these are just some of our favorites.

Enjoy!

A Krystal wedding surprise for the groom. Click here.

Hip NYC-based marketing firm loves the Reece’s Peanut Butter MilkQuake. Oh, and our blog. Click here.

Nothing is better than best friends, the beach and Krystal burgers. Click here.

Addicted to Krystal burgers and Chiks. Click here.

Staying at Grandma’s with no Internet. Thank goodness Krystal has free Wi-Fi. Click here.

We recently learned that POPAI, the global association for at-market retail, has awarded Krystal with the Bronze Award for the innovative digital menu boards in use at the company’s drive-in concept restaurant in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

We’ll tell you more about the cool, retro Krystal Drive-In later this week, as it’s possible more of these could pop up around the South, but in the photo at the right, you can see that this isn’t your ordinary menu board.

In addition to keeping with the ’50s tradition of drive-in eating (you know, where you relax and enjoy your food while sitting in your car), Krystal wanted to enhance the experience by adding in some modern day luxuries.

So, they added a TV to the menu boards. That’s right. You can pull up, order your favorite Krystal menu items, chill out and chow down while watching TV in your car. The TV broadcasts a live feed from the Chattanooga area, and audio is piped through a specific station on your car’s FM radio.

**Claps** No wonder they won the award.

Don’t forget to check in later this week, as we’ll tell you more about the cool features at the Krystal Drive-In. Here’s a hint: watching TV isn’t the only thing you can do in your car.