HISTORY
Brothers Dick and Maurice McDonald opened their first restaurant on May 15, 1940. The tiny street corner eatery was located at 1398 North E Street at West 14th Street in San Bernardino, Los Angeles, California.
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| The site of the first McDonald's restaurant, San Bernardino, California. |
The eatery was originally a barbecue drive-in, but the McDonald brothers discovered that most of their profits came from hamburgers. In 1948, they closed their restaurant for three months, reopening it in December as a walk-up hamburger stand.
This new venture introduced the "Speedee Service System," establishing the principles of the modern fast-food restaurant. The brothers replaced the trained cooks in their San Bernardino eatery with low-paid teenagers who simply flipped burgers and dunked fries in oil. The menu was reduced to a few items and cutlery and china was discarded. Customers had to queue for their food and eat out of a cardboard carton with their hands. Prices was reduced, people piled in and the fast food restaurant was born.
The oldest operating McDonald's restaurant was the third one built, opening in 1953. It is located at 10207 Lakewood Blvd. at Florence Ave. in Downey, California
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| Downey, California McDonald's By Photo by Bryan Hong (Brybry26) - Wikipedia Commons |
American Ray Kroc, a mixer salesman, recognized the idea's potential and partnered with the brothers. Kroc opened his first McDonald's franchise, the ninth overall in Illinois on April 15, 1955, an occasion considered to be the founding of the present corporation. He later bought out the McDonald brothers.
On their first day in business Ray Kroc's McDonalds eatery did $366.12 in revenue.
Kroc has been credited with making a number of innovative changes in the food-service franchise model. Chief among them was the sale of only single-store franchises instead of selling larger, territorial franchises which was common in the industry at the time.
Despite Mac and Dick McDonald having already franchised eight restaurants before Ray Kroc opened his first one, Ray considers himself the founder. He even falsely claims in his autobiography that his franchise was the first McDonald’s ever opened.
The Filet-O-Fish was introduced by McDonald's in 1962 as a way to accommodate Catholic customers who fasted from meat on Fridays during Lent. The sandwich was created by Lou Groen, a McDonald's franchise owner in Cincinnati, Ohio. Groen experimented with different recipes for a fish sandwich, and he eventually settled on a recipe that used codfish.
Dick and Maurice McDonald had the idea of using arches as a distinctive architectural element for their restaurants in the late 1940s. The first McDonald's to feature the arches was the drive-in restaurant in San Bernardino, California, which opened in 1953. The arches were designed by architect Stanley Meston, and they were intended to be a bold and eye-catching symbol that would attract customers from the road.
The arches were initially used as a physical architectural feature of McDonald's restaurants, but they were also incorporated into the company's logo in 1962. The early versions of the logo featured the arches in a more stylized form, and they were often accompanied by the McDonald's name written out in a script font.
In 1968, McDonald's underwent a major rebranding effort, and the Golden Arches logo was simplified to its current form – two arches intersecting to form an "M." This new logo was designed by Jim Schindler, and it was intended to be more modern and streamlined, reflecting the company's growing popularity and its expansion into new markets. The iconic "M" design that we recognize today was officially trademarked until November 18, 1968.
The first drive through window at a McDonald's restaurant was created at the McDonald's in Sierra Vista, Arizona in 1975 It was put in so the soldiers from Ft. Huachuca could get food since the base had a regulation prohibiting anyone in uniform from entering a business establishment.
Breakfast was served at McDonald's in 1975, when owner-operator Herb Peterson of Santa Barbara created the Egg McMuffin and it was added to menus everywhere.
The idea for the McDonald's Happy Meal originated in Guatemala in the mid-1970s. Created by manager Yolanda Fernández de Cofiño to simplify the menu for busy parents, the original meal consisted of a small burger, small fries, small soda, and a small sundae. It was later brought to the attention of the Chicago office who developed it further and deployed it in the USA.
Chicken McNuggets debuted on the menu in 1983. The iconic battered bites were almost onion nuggets, but taste testers preferred chicken!
McDonalds opened its first restaurant in Moscow on January 31, 1990. The massive eatery was one of the largest McDonald's in the world with 900 seats and more than 20 cash registers.
Pushkin Square in Moscow was home to the world’s busiest McDonald’s, serving 40,000 a day.
McDonald's had over 850 stores across Russia as of February 2022. Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, McDonald's closed most of its restaurants in Russia,
In March 2022, McDonald's sold all their restaurants to Alexander Govor, a Russian businessman. These former McDonald's restaurants reopened under a new name, "Vkusno i Tochka" (Tasty and That's It), starting in June 2022.
The last 9 McDonald's restaurants at train stations and airports in St. Petersburg and Moscow closed on December 1, 2022.
McDonald's used to use an ingredient known as beef tallow — the rendered form of beef fat that's solid at room temperature — that gave McDonald's fries their signature rich and buttery flavor.
They stopped using beef tallow in their French fries on July 23, 1990 after a wealthy heart attack survivor spent $3 million dollars on full page newspaper adverts calling out the chain for their unhealthy menu. It was replaced with 100% vegetable oil over concerns of high-cholesterol menu items.
In a worldwide survey in 1995 regarding the public recognition of various symbols, the five rings logo of the International Olympic Movement came out top with a 92% recognition rate, the fast food chain McDonald's "M" scored 88% and the Christian Cross a mere 54%.
McSki-thru, the only McDonald's restaurant in the world where you can ski through the drive-thru, opened in Lindvallen Sweden in 1996. You just ski up to the counter, order your food and ski off.
Ronald McDonald is a clown character used as the primary mascot of the McDonald's fast-food restaurant chain. In 1996, McDonald's tried to sue a man legally named Ronald McDonald for running his family restaurant by the same name. The real Ronald won.
Bolivia’s only branch of McDonald’s closed in 2002 after poor sales and political protests.
Joan Kroc, the widow of the founder of the McDonald's fast-food chain, died in 2004. She left in her estate a gift be in excess of $1.5 billion for The Salvation Army. The legacy was intended to be used for the development of community centers across America, and was the largest ever gift for a religious organization.
McDonald's used to use an ingredient known as beef tallow — the rendered form of beef fat that's solid at room temperature — that gave McDonald's fries their signature rich and buttery flavor.
They stopped using beef tallow in their French fries on July 23, 1990 after a wealthy heart attack survivor spent $3 million dollars on full page newspaper adverts calling out the chain for their unhealthy menu. It was replaced with 100% vegetable oil over concerns of high-cholesterol menu items.
In a worldwide survey in 1995 regarding the public recognition of various symbols, the five rings logo of the International Olympic Movement came out top with a 92% recognition rate, the fast food chain McDonald's "M" scored 88% and the Christian Cross a mere 54%.
McSki-thru, the only McDonald's restaurant in the world where you can ski through the drive-thru, opened in Lindvallen Sweden in 1996. You just ski up to the counter, order your food and ski off.
Ronald McDonald is a clown character used as the primary mascot of the McDonald's fast-food restaurant chain. In 1996, McDonald's tried to sue a man legally named Ronald McDonald for running his family restaurant by the same name. The real Ronald won.
Bolivia’s only branch of McDonald’s closed in 2002 after poor sales and political protests.
Joan Kroc, the widow of the founder of the McDonald's fast-food chain, died in 2004. She left in her estate a gift be in excess of $1.5 billion for The Salvation Army. The legacy was intended to be used for the development of community centers across America, and was the largest ever gift for a religious organization.
Since 2007, all of McDonald's delivery trucks in the UK have been fueled by used cooking oil from their restaurants.
In 2008, McDonald's saved $278,850,000 by removing one of the two slices of cheese from the McDouble Cheeseburger.
In 2008, McDonald's saved $278,850,000 by removing one of the two slices of cheese from the McDouble Cheeseburger.
Donald A. Gorske ate his 26,000th Big Mac on October 11, 2012 and his 30,000th Big Mac on May 4th, 2018. He has consumed more Big Macs than anyone in the world, averaging two a day. Gorske has eaten at one of their outlets (nearly) every single day bar eight since May 17, 1972. One of the eight days Gorske missed was when his mother died as she requested he forgo the burger in her memory.
On May 17, 2022 Gorske reached the 50-year anniversary of when he first started eating Big Macs almost daily. To celebrate, Gorske went to where it all started in 1972, his local McDonald's restaurant in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.
On May 17, 2022 Gorske reached the 50-year anniversary of when he first started eating Big Macs almost daily. To celebrate, Gorske went to where it all started in 1972, his local McDonald's restaurant in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.
McDonald's is the world's second largest private employer—behind Walmart—with 1.9 million employees, 1.5 million of whom work for franchises.
The manager of the first ever McDonalds was named Ed MacLuckie.
The capital of Vermont, Montpelier, is the only state capital in the United States that does not have a McDonalds.
The world's smallest McDonalds in Tokyo, Japan is 492 sq ft.
The McDonald's in Sedona, Arizona is the only one in the world with non-yellow arches. They're turquoise so they don't clash with the building's red rock.
68 million customers a day visit McDonalds across the world.
According to McDonald's, the chain sells 75 burgers every single second of every minute of every hour of every single day.
100 billion burgers have been sold in its history.
A new McDonald's restaurant opens every 14.5 hours.
As in 2019, the farthest you can get from a McDonald's in the U.S. is 107 miles as the crow flies. The McDonald's-free area lies between the tiny Dakotan hamlets of Meadow and Glad Valley.
It has been claimed there has never been a war between two countries that have a McDonald's in it. This has developed the theory Golden Arches Theory of Conflict Prevention.
20 per cent of all McDonalds sales include a toy, making it the world's biggest toy distributor.
Around seven per cent of the potatoes grown in the USA end up in chip bags sold by McDonald's.
One out of three of all cows in the US used for food purposes (beef) are used by the McDonald's Corp.
One out of every right Americans has worked at a McDonalds at some point in their life.
A McDonald's Big Mac bun has an average of 178 sesame seeds.
It would take on average one hour 43 minutes to burn off a 540-calorie Big Mac.
A McDonald's Caesar Salad has more calories, fat and salt than a Double Big Mac burger.
According to McDonald's, a quarter of all its Filet-O-Fish sandwiches in 2017 were sold during Lent. (Many of the people buying them were Catholics abstaining from meat).
McDonald's Drive-Thru staff aren't allowed to serve people on horseback.
Before he became successful, James Franco worked at McDonald's and practiced his accents on customers.
Virginia rapper Pusha T wrote the 2003 jingle "I’m Lovin’ It" for McDonald’s. Performed by Justin Timberlake and produced by The Neptunes, it became the longest-running jingle in the fast food chain's history.
Justin Timberlake was paid $6 million for to record the jingle.
The ad executive responsible for the McDonald's "I'm Lovin' It" jingle committed suicide at the age of 40. Paul Tilley jumped to his death from the upper floor of a Chicago hotel.
As a five-year-old, actress Sarah Michelle Gellar was banned for life from McDonald’s after starring in a controversial TV commercial for rival Burger King that sparked a lawsuit between the chains.
McDonalds has a Gold Card that entitles the holder to free, unlimited food. Bill Gates and Warren Buffet both have one, as does Charles Ramsey, who ditched his half-eaten Big Mac to help rescue three kidnapped women.
The Marks & Co antiquarian bookshop made famous in the 1970 book 84 Charing Cross Road, which later became a movie starring Anne Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins, is now a McDonald’s restaurant.
People in Australia call McDonald's "Macca's"
In Austria, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain they serve beer in McDonald's.
Ronald McDonald is called Donald McDonald in Japan because Japanese people can't say their R's very well.
FUN FACTS
The manager of the first ever McDonalds was named Ed MacLuckie.
The capital of Vermont, Montpelier, is the only state capital in the United States that does not have a McDonalds.
The world's smallest McDonalds in Tokyo, Japan is 492 sq ft.
The McDonald's in Sedona, Arizona is the only one in the world with non-yellow arches. They're turquoise so they don't clash with the building's red rock.
68 million customers a day visit McDonalds across the world.
According to McDonald's, the chain sells 75 burgers every single second of every minute of every hour of every single day.
100 billion burgers have been sold in its history.
A new McDonald's restaurant opens every 14.5 hours.
As in 2019, the farthest you can get from a McDonald's in the U.S. is 107 miles as the crow flies. The McDonald's-free area lies between the tiny Dakotan hamlets of Meadow and Glad Valley.
It has been claimed there has never been a war between two countries that have a McDonald's in it. This has developed the theory Golden Arches Theory of Conflict Prevention.
20 per cent of all McDonalds sales include a toy, making it the world's biggest toy distributor.
Around seven per cent of the potatoes grown in the USA end up in chip bags sold by McDonald's.
One out of three of all cows in the US used for food purposes (beef) are used by the McDonald's Corp.
One out of every right Americans has worked at a McDonalds at some point in their life.
A McDonald's Big Mac bun has an average of 178 sesame seeds.
A McDonald's Caesar Salad has more calories, fat and salt than a Double Big Mac burger.
According to McDonald's, a quarter of all its Filet-O-Fish sandwiches in 2017 were sold during Lent. (Many of the people buying them were Catholics abstaining from meat).
McDonald's Drive-Thru staff aren't allowed to serve people on horseback.
Before he became successful, James Franco worked at McDonald's and practiced his accents on customers.
Virginia rapper Pusha T wrote the 2003 jingle "I’m Lovin’ It" for McDonald’s. Performed by Justin Timberlake and produced by The Neptunes, it became the longest-running jingle in the fast food chain's history.
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| Pusha T performing in 2007. |
Justin Timberlake was paid $6 million for to record the jingle.
The ad executive responsible for the McDonald's "I'm Lovin' It" jingle committed suicide at the age of 40. Paul Tilley jumped to his death from the upper floor of a Chicago hotel.
As a five-year-old, actress Sarah Michelle Gellar was banned for life from McDonald’s after starring in a controversial TV commercial for rival Burger King that sparked a lawsuit between the chains.
McDonalds has a Gold Card that entitles the holder to free, unlimited food. Bill Gates and Warren Buffet both have one, as does Charles Ramsey, who ditched his half-eaten Big Mac to help rescue three kidnapped women.
The Marks & Co antiquarian bookshop made famous in the 1970 book 84 Charing Cross Road, which later became a movie starring Anne Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins, is now a McDonald’s restaurant.
People in Australia call McDonald's "Macca's"
In Austria, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain they serve beer in McDonald's.
Ronald McDonald is called Donald McDonald in Japan because Japanese people can't say their R's very well.
Iceland does not have any McDonald's restaurants currently operating in the country. McDonald's had operated in Iceland for 16 years before leaving on October 30, 2009. Iceland has strict regulations on imported food products, which can make it difficult and expensive for fast food chains like McDonald's to operate in the country.
Sources Daily Mail, Parade magazine, Food For Thought by Ed Pearce
Sources Daily Mail, Parade magazine, Food For Thought by Ed Pearce
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