It's a little building near the intersection of East Trafficway at Kimbrough/Benton Avenue in downtown Springfield. But Taylor's Drive-In holds many, many memories for longtime residents.

Taylor's opened in 1947, when a burger cost just 50 cents. Businesses have come and gone in the decades since then, but Taylor's has remained a Springfield fan favorite.

The current owner, Darlene Collins, bought Taylor's with her husband in 1978. At that time, the restaurant didn't have a cash register and they didn't have fries on the menu.

They changed both of those things, but they kept around all the ingredients that have made Taylor's a Springfield tradition.

They still grind their meat fresh every day, which is what Collins says makes their burgers stand out. They also still use real hard ice cream in their malts and shakes, and have those old-fashioned flavored sodas. Even the inside hasn't changed much over the years.

"Being here all those years, nothing's changed in here," said Doug Goddard, a customer since 1952. "I used to sit right there lots."

To Darlene, not changing what made Taylor's popular has been their key to success.

"You just don't change things, you just kind of leave things because that's what the people that come remember," she said. "They remember the things that used to be."

That's especially true for the burger recipe.

"I have people every day saying how great the burgers are, but I don't know there's any place in town that grinds their meat every day like we do," Collins said. "When you get fresh ground meat every day, it's different. I don't care, it's different than you buy at the grocery store. It's just not like that."

"It's the way the meat is put on the bun and the way they cook it and everything, it's still just the way it was when I was a kid," Goddard said.

Taylor's is only open during lunch hours these days, but it still attracts a lot of big groups eager for the nostalgia -- birthday parties, anniversaries and, most popular, class reunions. The regulars are what has kept this burger joint up and running, and her customers are Darlene's favorite part of the job.

"You have your regulars, we have two girls, sisters, that have been coming in here for years and they come in two to three times a week," she said. "And we have another couple, he works at the hospital, volunteers, and they come in at least once a week. There's people that you really look forward to seeing."

Though Darlene has put a lifetime's worth of work into Taylor's, she's not ready to leave quite yet. She hopes her grandson might take over the business when she is finally ready to retire, because the idea of seeing Taylor's close is not one she'd like to consider.

"It's been here, it's a landmark. And what's going to happen to it?" she said. "I don't want it to go. I really don't."

For now, she is happy to celebrate seven decades with her customers - old and new.

"Seventy years of wonderful, wonderful memories," Collins said. "And it has been wonderful. It really has."

Taylor's Drive-In is open 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday - Friday. It's running a few specials this month in honor of its 70th anniversary. Its official address is 139 Memorial Plaza.