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20th Century Comprehensive Timeline for Fast Food Restaurants
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Javar Saunders HIS 122
20th Cent. Fast Food Chains
1910s and 20s Fast Food Restaurants
1910/20
Beefsteak Charlie's
1910s
Beefsteak Charlies became very popular in the 1910s. The restaurant originated in Manhattan, New York. Beefsteak Charlie's was founded in 1914 by Charles W. Chessar. The restaurant acquired the name Beefsteak Charlie's from a sports editor named Howard Williams. Chessar left and gave the restaurant to William Soshnick. In Sochnick's retirment in the 1960s, he sold the Beefsteak to Larry Ellman. Larry began the restaurant chain in 1976 and lasted all the way till the early 2000s.
Beefsteak Charlie's photo
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White Castle
White is classified as the first fast food burger chain in America today. White Castle was founded in 1921 by Bill Ingram. He opened the first White Castle in Wichita, Kansas. The fast food chain became a success as Bill Ingram was working with a co-founder by the name of Walter Anderson. They used an assembly line to style to further better their fast food chain.
1920s
Billy Ingram
Billy
Billy made one of the best known fast-food chains of the 20th century. Bill was born on December 27, 1880. Instead of making the first fast food burger chain, Ingram had wanted to start an insurance business. However, he teamed up with co-founder Walter Anderson and started White Castle. Walter Anderson had a burger stand in Kansas. Ingram had set out 700 dollars and opened the first White Castle business. From there, Ingram began planning the survival of his business by spreading the chain, developing the idea of carry-out and much more
Ingram and Anderson had planned the first White Castle to be in Wichita, Kansas. America at the time in the 20s were not satisfied with the idea of hamburgers. Ingram and Anderson used the design of the building to attract consumers attention and change the thought of burgers. They made a small building outfitted with porcelain enamel, steel exteriors, and stainless steel interiors that evoked a sense of cleanliness.
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White Castle Coupon
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Billy Ingram
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1930s and 40s Fast Food
1930/40
Kentucky Fried Chicken
In 1930, Harlan Sanders opened his first restaurant in a gas station in Corbin, Kentucky. The restaurant was called Sanders' Court & Cafe and he was already selling fried chicken. KFC did not start getting the name until Sanders started the fried chicken franchise in 1952.
1930s
Colonel Sander's business card
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McDonald's Franchise
In 1940, the McDonald's brothers Maurice(Mac) and Richard opened McDonald's Bar-B-Que in San Bernardino, California. In 1948, they redesigned their restaurant and created a menu with hamburgers. Also the name was shortended to only McDonald's. In 1954, Ray Kroc who was a salesman came to the scene and began advertising the McDonald brother's franchise. He bought the company in 1955.
1940s
Ray Kroc
Even though he did not create the franchise, Kroc is the reason McDonald's became the most popular fast food chain till this day. Kroc produced the way of making a quantity of hamburgers while selling them at a reasonable price. He came up with the idea of a self-service counter that helped people receive food efficiently. The burgers were already cooked and they were wrapped and warmed under heating lamps.
Kroc
Ray Kroc
Kroc
After buying the company, Ray Kroc started his franchise by opening his first McDonald's in Des Plaines, Illinois. He established the corporation and eventually bought out the McDonald's brothers in 1961. In 1963, Kroc created the clown Ronald McDonald and double-arch "m" became the logo of the fast food chain. McDonald's from there became a great fast food restaurant and established the creation of the following: Big Mac(1968), Egg McMuffin(1973), Happy Meals(1979), and Chicken McNuggets(1983).
McDonald's
Picture McDonald's around the 1950s when Kroc bought the franchise
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Kroc holding a burger
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Modernization of Kroc's McDonald's
This is a picture of the first McDonald’s opened by Ray Kroc on April 15th, 1955. He established it in Des Plaines, Illinois.
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Drive Through Restaurants
Fun Fact
Drive-throughs existed in the 1930s, and many drive-in restaurants had some form of drive-up window. However, the speaker systems commonly used to place drive-through orders didn't hit the scene until the 1950s. The double drive-through, used by many busy fast-food restaurants, debuted in the 1980s(Wilson).
1950s and 60s Fast Food Restaurants
1950/60
Burger King
1950
Burger King was started in 1954 by James W. McLamore and David Edgerton in Miami, Florida. By 1959, Burger King had become a national food chain after Mclamore and Edgerton sold their franchises. Burger had different owners after it was first founded. The Pillsbury Company bought the franchise in 1967 who gave Donald N. Smith to rearrange the menu and control the different franchises. It went through many more corporations and presently the Restaurant Brands International owns Burger King.
1960s Burger King commercial
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Taco Bell
Glenn Bell originally took the idea of McDonald's when he opened a burger place. Eventually he guided himself off the path of burgers and created a restaurant named Taco Tia in 1954. Many Americans liked it and eventually he changed the name to the popular name Taco Bell and opened his first one in 1962.
1960
Video of first Taco Bell
The first Taco Bell created by Glenn Bell was created in Downey, California and on November 20, 2015 the first Taco Bell building was moved to the headquarters in Irvine, CA
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1970s and 80s Fast Food Restaurants
1970/80
Popeyes
Alvin C. Copeland opened his restaurant "Chicken on the Run" in 1972 in New Orleans, Louisiana. He specialized in serving Southern Fried Chicken. Started off as slow and lacking in customers. Copeland eventually changed it up and started to serve New Orleans spicy chicken. It becomes a boom and he opens the first Popeyes in 1976.
1970
First Popeyes
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Chick-fil-A
Chic-fil-A was founded in the late 1960s by Samuel Truett Cathy in Hapeville, Georgia. It really made a name for itself in the 70s and 80s. It began getting built in many food courts of malls. The first Chick-fil-A debuted in Atlanta's Greenbriar Mall in 1967. Also Cathy is the person who created the first fried chicekn breast sandwich. The first Chick-fil-A building was opened in 1986.
1980
Chick-fil-A marker
Georgia Historical Society and Chick-fil-A corporation made a historical marker for the origin of Chick-fil-A at the place where Cathy's first Dwarf House opened on May 23, 1946
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1990/2000
1990s and 2000s Fast Food Restaurants
Five Guys
1990/2000s
Many big fast food chains were established before the 90s and 2000s because they became so popular. Fives Guys was founded in 1986 and started close to the 90s and is a very popular fast food franchise in America today. Jerry, Janie and the rest of the Murrelllfamily opened their first burger joint in Arlington, Virginia in 1986. In 2003, Jerry and Janie began franchising Five Guys. Within a year and a half, Five Guys became a national success. Over 30 years now, Five Guys has over 1500 franchises worldwide and many more units being created.
Jerry Murrell in front of Five Guys franchise
Jerry Murrell standing in front of the first five guys location in Arlington, VA, 1986
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In conclusion, these fast food restaurants became very influential in the American society. They were a very significant source of American consumerism in the 20th century. The fast food chains I included were the some of the most during their period in time. Also they are still very popular amongst the American citizens and also internationally.