Auto-Dine Hamburger was a regional drive-in restaurant with a location on the corner of 7th Street & Main Avenue in downtown Bismarck. It was noted for its octagonal building. Auto-Dine also had restaurants in Minot, Fargo, Moorhead, Aberdeen, and Grand Forks.
Perhaps the most popular menu item for Auto-Dine was its Big Otto sandwich. Consumers could also receive a coupon for bringing in recyclable aluminum cans.
Auto-Dine was formed in 1962 with headquarters located at 121 N 5th in downtown Bismarck. A Chicago office was soon established as well, presumably in anticipation of national growth. Despite its local origins, the first Auto-Dine locations to open were in Moorhead and Aberdeen, with Bismarck’s restaurant opening in late 1964 on the former site of Esso Service Station and Central Lumber Company.
Auto-Dine’s Bismarck restaurant closed in 1976, when an All-American Sub franchise opened in its place. It, too, was out of business by 1980. Then, in 1981, Dean’s Classic Automobiles operated at the site for an unspecific period of time.
Today, the site is home to McDonalds.
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