After hauling produce from a Baldwin Park farm to downtown Los Angeles, trucker Bob Lang ended his day at a tiny burger shack whose towering roadside red marquee promised no delays for customers. For 25 cents, or one-fourth of his daily earnings, Lang’s In-N-Out Burger order was always the same.

“A hamburger with onions. It was my reward,” said Lang, who ended up working for In-N-Out for 54 years.

Late Tuesday afternoon, Lang experienced déja vu when the Southern California burger institution unveiled a 100-square-foot replica of the first burger stand founded 66 years ago by Harry and Esther Snyder. The duplicate Baldwin Park stand pays tribute to the original, demolished years ago when the 10 was built.

Starting Thursday, fans can get a glimpse of how a multimillion-dollar burger empire started from a no-frills operation. The past is re-created in big and small details – from the manual potato slicer to the groundbreaking two-way speakers in the drive-through lane.

“Everything is exactly the way it was,” said Lang, 77.

Well, everything but burgers and fries.

The replica building, on Francisquito Avenue at the 10, is for show. Food is not sold here. The private In-N-Out monument, less than a mile from the company’s distribution center and souvenir shop, is open every Thursday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The company also plans to use the building to train employees about the chain’s history.

“It amazing we could do something like this so people can come by and say, ‘Hey, this is where it all started,’ ” Chief Operating Officer Mark Taylor said.

During the preview event, Taylor stood inside the stand – a cramped space outfitted with an antique Coldspot refrigerator, period potato and cheese slicers, four vintage fryers, Silex coffee pots and a restored Coca-Cola cooler.

The exterior boasts a replica of the original neon marquee sign. Red-and-white awnings jut out from three sides of the building, which is surrounded by black acorn lampposts. White gravel covers the horseshoe-shaped drive-through lane. A small cigarette vending machine with Lucky Strike and Camel labels is attached to a pillar on the passenger side of the car lane. (Once again, nothing is for sale.)

At the walk-up counter, tall glass windows flank each side, leaving visitors to imagine a scene of up to five workers preparing what would become one of the most craveable burgers in the country.

Lang said the exhibition kitchen, common today in many hip restaurants, was another savvy idea by Harry Snyder.

“He wanted the customers to see what we were doing. Nothing hidden. No tricks,” said Lang, who worked closely with the Snyders in the early years as a manager.

In 1947, Harry Snyder, the son of Dutch immigrants, met his wife, Esther Johnson. He sold baked goods to a Seattle restaurant where she worked as the day manager. They fell in love, married, and settled in Baldwin Park. The Snyders opened the first In-N-Out across the street from their house – not too far from the replica stand.

The couple served hand-pressed burgers in a clean, friendly environment. She managed the books. He ran the day-to-day operations.

Seeing the old stand come to life brought back memories for many longtime employees gathered at Tuesday’s unveiling, including Tom Evans.

In 1949, he was one of the first employees to work with Harry Snyder.

“We’d lean out the window and say, ‘How many burgers you want?’” Evans said of the days before the installation of the two-way speaker.

Every order was memorized. On, a good day, they sold up to 60 burgers, said Evans, 87.

He and Lang said Harry Snyder was a stickler for quality and cleanliness. He kept a training journal at his home, often referred to as “the Bible,” that detailed how to do everything from grilling a burger to spin drying potatoes.

Sourcing the right beef was also important.

“Harry would go to L.A. in the morning and watch the (butchers) bone and grind the chuck,” said Lang. “He was very meticulous. He had a keen sense of taste.”

Harry Snyder’s discerning palate and unwillingness to cut corners laid the groundwork for a fast-food company that has since expanded to nearly 300 locations in five states, with estimated yearly sales of more than $500 million.

Company President Lynsi Snyder said she’s thrilled to mark history with a monument to her grandparents’ American dream.

“This is a really special spot for me,” Snyder said during Tuesday’s private unveiling. ”My grandparents were here in 1948. It was a little business that would make ends meet.”

Contact the writer: nluna@ocregister.com