That might be because McDonalds introduced its best-selling menu item in 1949: french fries. Geris Hamburgers was an Illinois based fast food burger chain with glaring similarities to McDonalds. as well as other partner offers and accept our, Will Mcintyre/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images, Marvin Lichtner/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images, Wendy Maeda/The Boston Globe/Getty Images, Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images, McDonald's restaurants look drastically different now, founded in Jacksonville, Florida, by Keith Kramer and Matthew Burns, still broils and flame-grills its burgers, one infamous commercial that shows a Whopper decomposing over time, visited KFC restaurants around the world up until his death, the family-owned business sold its 5-cent sliders by the stack, THEN AND NOW: 35 photos that show how famous fast-food company logos have changed over time, THEN AND NOW: Photos show how McDonald's has changed through the years, from its menu to its mascot, THEN AND NOW: How the McDonald's menu has changed through the years. fast var xhr = new XMLHttpRequest(); With that concept, the first Whataburger opened in Corpus Christie, Texas. Industry observers estimate that fast-food restaurant sales accounted for about 20 percent of the $87 billion Americans spent on food eaten away from home last year. Although McDonald's continued to dominate the fast food market financially, no chain earned the wide acclaim in the 1980s that Burger King enjoyed. Orders are placed by individual red telephones and food is served from a central counter. The timeline below highlights some key moments in fast food history. . With just 25 seats, the first restaurant was rather small. One year later, the chain brought out a brand new menu item: the cheeseburger slider. Franchises are businesses that are owned and operated by individual entrepreneurs but use standardized branding and marketing materials provided by a larger parent company. Diners must present their school ID to qualify for the discount. Many customers are drawn to their hamburger buns, which are rumored to be sweeter and eggier than normal buns. And in fact, all well-known fast food chains have gone through different waves of popularity over the years, typically because of new menu items, prices, or locations. Whataburger lands no. The menu in 1964 offered hamburgers for 15 cents, fries for 10 cents and milkshakes for 20 cents. By 2000, there were 3,500 Starbucks cafes. The next time you're craving a burger, pick from our list of 40 Popular BurgersRanked! Burger King first opened its doors in 1954, serving grilled burgers and milkshakes. Another major player in the fast food industry during this time was Burger King. Get the best food tips and diet advice every single day, Now, you'll have the best and latest food and healthy eating news right in your inboxevery Thanks largely to its delivery service, Dominos was the fastest-growing pizza restaurant in the United States by 1985. You can also get our free newsletter, follow us on Facebook & Pinterest. Marina Nazario contributed to an earlier version of this post. See what Wendy looks like in real life. And while DQ isn't a rival to its same-year peer, it's a successful and international brand in its own right. But in 1971, the one and only location opened in Seattle, Washington. Material on this site is provided for education, criticism, commentary, cultural reporting, entertainment, historical reference, and news reporting/analysis. In 1955 and 1954, respectively, McDonalds and Burger King launched their franchised food businesses. Dominos. We've rounded up the most popular fast food chains in every decade, so you can take a trip down memory lane with these famous foods. In addition to their addictive drinks, the earliest version of Starbucks' loyalty program made customers eager to visit time and time again, making more stores an inevitability. According to Britannica, Subway actually became the biggest fast food chain restaurant in all of the United States in 2002. The first Wendys opened in 1969 and dominated fast food into the 1970s. 11 Secrets Arby's Doesn't Want You to Know, We Tasted Every Taco at Taco Bell & This Is the Best, The Best and Worst Menu Items at Little Caesars, initially went by the name Insta-Burger King, We Tried Every Burger at Burger King & This Is the Best, The Best and Worst Menu Items at Jack in the Box, 100 of the Most Popular Fast-Food Items You've Got to Try at Least Once, 11 Secrets In-N-Out Doesn't Want You to Know, 15 Secrets About Chick-fil-A Every Fan Needs to Know, 20 McDonald's Secrets Employees Don't Want You to Know. Another important development during this time was the growing popularity of franchises. In addition to offering a variety of All-American hamburgers, the Next Door serves steaks, spaghetti and shrimp dinners, chili, and other sandwiches, all in the medium price range. In the 1940s, the nature of the fast food industry was very different than it is today. Take a look at the first-ever Pizza Hut. (Businessman Ray Kroc would grow the chain into a powerhouse starting in the 1950s.) Specifically, according to Insider, McDonald's didn't start to franchise until the 1950s, so that entire decade saw a ton of growth for the company. John-Henry Perera. In addition to being credited with the invention of the hamburger bun, it is also officially recognized as the oldest fast-food chain in America. Some Hardees burger patties were also hexagonal. Specifically, according to the Wendy's website, the fast food chain opened its 2,000th location that year, capping a decade when Wendy's was the most popular fast food joint in the country, according toInsider. The brand began testing the renovated restaurants in 2014, and thousands of locations were updated over the following few years. How Fast Food Has Changed Since You Were The burger chain now has over 2,200 quick-serve restaurants in the US and Guam. Some booths are even roomy enough for a family of six to dine in comfort. Throughout the 1960s, the fast food chicken chain cemented its popularity, which continues to today. Like 1953, 1948 was a big year for fast-food restaurants. By this point, the fried chicken establishment had already perfected its chicken sandwich recipe, so obviously, people flocked to it. Did you know that fast food chains originated from drive-ins and hamburger stands? Another Ohio city, Columbus, was christened a test market for new fast-fooderies while Junction City KS, bordering Fort Riley, looked like a franchisers fast food heaven. The following favorites youll find everywhere in hamburger drive-ins and sandwich shops, pizza parlors, coffeehouses and juice bars, walk-up hot-dog and taco stands, on the beach or around the family pool, in the patio or by the television set. The Sonic Drive-In you know and love, was once a root beer stand named The Top Hat. Proudly powered by WordPress On the east coast, it was Dunkin' Donuts, now just Dunkin', then called Open Kettle, which opened its doors in Quincy, Massachusetts. By 1989, two years after its expansion, Dairy Queen reached top status in the country. Howard johnson's. Seriously, by 1969, there were almost 200 new Hardee's locations all over the world. No matter what your favorite chain is, pretty much everyone in the US, and many people abroad, have eaten fast food at some point in their life, and for good reason. White Castle Sliders. The front doors, also red, feature leaded glass windows in bright colors. single The colonial exterior of white haydite walls is highlighted with a brilliant red roof. 7 Oldest Fast-Food Items Still Being Sold In America. But it wasn't exactly super popular when it kicked off. The chain has a brand new logo, and the official brand colors are now orange and white. . According to Fast Food: Roadside Restaurants in the Automobile Age, Taco Bell started franchising in 1964, and it didn't take long until it was just about the most popular fast food chain out there. Their four sons (Jim, Matt, Chad and Ben), along with Jerry, were the original five guys. Five Guys began franchising in 2003 , and within a year and a half, there were permits for 300 additional locations! But that's not all that made Taco Bell the place to eat during the 70s. The chain serves approximately 2 billion cups of hot and iced coffee every year around the world. Or should we say a 'dog.' After it opened more stand-alone locations in 1987 and 1988, it's no wonder that Chick-fil-A became more and more popular. Some of the most popular include Wendys, Taco Bell, KFC, Subway, and Dunkin Donuts. This innovation made it possible for customers to get their food without ever having to leave their cars, which greatly increased the convenience factor associated with fast food. This model proved to be very successful for many fast food chains, who were able to rapidly expand their reach by selling franchises all across the country (and sometimes even internationally). We are no longer supporting IE (Internet Explorer) as we strive to provide site experiences for browsers that support new web standards and security practices. every day. McDonald's may be the heaviest of hitters in the fast-food world, with more than 39,000 restaurants spread around the globe, but it's not the oldest, having been founded in 1940 by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald. Today, given their lack of presence in some regions, some people might not know that A&W is a restaurant chain at all. In the US, McDonald's has also taken measures to protect customers, such as limiting the number of customers eating inside, requiring all employees and patrons to wear PPE, and frequently cleaning all surfaces. WELCOME HOME, FISH & CHIPS (1970) Vintage ad from the Chula Vista Star-News (California) June 14, 1970 Arthur Treacher brings All-American dish back to its birthplace, You can have Taco Bell at home with our best copycat recipes. It might not be as popular as other joints, but it's still pretty beloved, and there was one year in particular when Wendy's was super popular. But back in the 1950s, the now ubiquitous chain was just starting to take off, and people everywhere finally got a taste of what a fast food burger experience looked like. Yes, for anyone born in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Wendy's was probably where everyone was headed for a burger. navigator.sendBeacon('https://www.google-analytics.com/collect', payload); In-N-Out was one of the first restaurants to use the two-way speaker system for ordering. Once upon a time, you'd be hard-pressed to find a hamburger anywhere other than a sit-down eatery, and the very notion of coffee you could take on the go or a pizza delivered to your home would be laughable.