Fast food is a popular part of American culture. But how much do you know about fast food facts? Check out this insight from Sears Imported Autos:
Fast Food History
1. Brothers Dick and Mac McDonald opened their first restaurant in 1940. Eight years later, it was remodeled to be a drive-in restaurant, named “McDonald’s.” By 1965, there were over 700 McDonald’s franchises across the country.
2. In 1951, The first Jack in the Box restaurant was opened by Robert O. Peterson in San Diego, California. By 1958, there were 14 franchises, and the 100th Jack in the Box opened in 1964.
3. Burger King was founded in 1954 by James McLamore and David Edgerton. The company began franchising in 1959.
4. In 1964, Glen Bell opened his first Taco Bell in Downey, California. The 100th Taco Bell was opened just three years later in Anaheim.
5. The Subway franchise got its start in 1965 when Fred DeLuca and Peter Buck opened their first sub shop in Bridgeport, Connecticut. In 2002, Subway surpassed McDonald’s with a record-breaking 2,027 restaurants.
6. In 1969, the first Wendy’s was opened by Dave Thomas in Columbus, Ohio. Franchising began in 1972, and the 1,000th restaurant was opened in 1978.
Fast Food Menus
7. In 1957, Burger King introduced The Whopper sandwich. McDonald’s signature sandwich, the Big Mac, was created in 1968.
8. In 1969, Jack in the Box introduced the first fast food breakfast sandwich, the Breakfast Jack. Later fast food breakfast sandwiches include McDonald’s Egg McMuffin (1975) and Burger King’s Croissan’wich (1983).
9. Subway’s classic BMT sub was introduced in 1975. It was named for the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit system.
10. McDonald’s Happy Meals were introduced in 1979. The first boxes featured a circus wagon theme.
11. In 1983, Wendy’s added baked potatoes to its menu (in addition to french fries).
12. Taco Bell added the Taco Salad and Taco Bell Grande to the menu in 1984.
13. Subway made their Kids Pak meals more nutritious in 2003 when they switched the soda for a juice box and the cookie for Fruit Roll-Ups fruit snacks.
14. In 2006, Wendy’s created the Vanilla Frosty, a new version of their already popular chocolate Frosty drink.
Fast Food Advertising
15. The first national TV commercial to feature Ronald McDonald was shown in 1966. He was joined by friends Grimace, Mayor McCheese, Hamburglar, Captain Crook and the Big Mac in 1971.
16. Burger King’s animated King character first appeared in TV commercials in 1960. The live-action King didn’t appear until 1976. After going on hiatus in 1989, the King returned to commercials in 2004.
17. In 1984, Wendy’s debuted its “Where’s the Beef” ad-campaign, which would become a staple of 1980s pop culture.
18. A young Seth Green coined a 1990s catch-phrase when he appeared in the “Cha-Ching” commercial for Rally’s Hamburgers in 1992.
19. Jack in the Box launched their famous Jack Box ad-campaign in 1995. In commercials, Jack Box became CEO of the restaurant chain, campaigned in the 1996 U.S. Presidential Election and was hit by a bus (2009).
20. In 2000, Subway released its first commercial featuring Jared, a customer who lost weight and got in shape by eating Subway sandwiches.
Sources
McDonald’s facts: http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd/our_company/mcd_history.html
Burger King facts: http://www.bk.com/en/us/company-info/index.html
Subway facts: http://www.subway.com/subwayroot/AboutSubway/history/timeline.htm
Seth Green Rally’s commercial: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001293/bio
Jack in the Box facts (“Our Story”): http://www.jackinthebox.com/
Wendy’s facts: http://www.wendys.com/about_us/story.jsp
Taco Bell facts: http://www.tacobell.com/company/
