The History of Fast Food
A&W-The Pioneer
A cute slideshow on A&W's website will lead you through a history of their business. The first A&W restaurant was opened in the summer of 1919 in a town called Lodi, California. The owner, Mr. Roy W. Allen, wisely chose to open it the same night the town was holding a celebration to welcome back their World War I veterans. Their second restaurant opened only a year later not too far away, and Mr. Allen partnered with a man named Frank Wright not long after that. The 'A' is for Allen and the 'W' for Wright.
The Great Depression and World War II were both tough on the world's first fast food franchise. No new restaurants could be opened and sugar and beef became more and more expensive. However, it's said it takes a good war to bring a country out of a depression and the postwar boom was more than enough to get A&W back on their feet. By 1950, there were approximately four hundred and fifty restaurants nationwide. The A&W Root Beer Company bought the operation from Mr. Allen. It was around this time that the franchise went international, opening restaurants in Canada. Today, the Canadian A&W branch is independent from the American branch.
Things continued to get better for the franchise. By the seventies they were bottling their brand of root beer to be sold across the nation and had expanded overseas. They picked up a mascot, a bear named Rooty. In the eighties, they began to capitalize on quick service, food courts and drive-thrus. They continued to expand in Southeast Asia during this time (there are now hundreds of restaurants in that region).
In the mid 90's, KFC and A&W began co-branding, and a few years later Long John Silver's joined the effort. Today there are twelve hundred restaurants all over the world, and last year they profited eight hundred and eighteen million, four hundred thousand dollars ($818,400,000). They sell burgers, fries, chili-dogs, ice cream, and, of course, root beer.
This franchise opened doors for hundreds of successful business to come, including the other franchises discussed in this project.
The Great Depression and World War II were both tough on the world's first fast food franchise. No new restaurants could be opened and sugar and beef became more and more expensive. However, it's said it takes a good war to bring a country out of a depression and the postwar boom was more than enough to get A&W back on their feet. By 1950, there were approximately four hundred and fifty restaurants nationwide. The A&W Root Beer Company bought the operation from Mr. Allen. It was around this time that the franchise went international, opening restaurants in Canada. Today, the Canadian A&W branch is independent from the American branch.
Things continued to get better for the franchise. By the seventies they were bottling their brand of root beer to be sold across the nation and had expanded overseas. They picked up a mascot, a bear named Rooty. In the eighties, they began to capitalize on quick service, food courts and drive-thrus. They continued to expand in Southeast Asia during this time (there are now hundreds of restaurants in that region).
In the mid 90's, KFC and A&W began co-branding, and a few years later Long John Silver's joined the effort. Today there are twelve hundred restaurants all over the world, and last year they profited eight hundred and eighteen million, four hundred thousand dollars ($818,400,000). They sell burgers, fries, chili-dogs, ice cream, and, of course, root beer.
This franchise opened doors for hundreds of successful business to come, including the other franchises discussed in this project.
McDonald's-Fast Food Monopoly
McDonald's, today, is the largest fast food franchise in the world. Last year they made more than thirty billion in sales. They have more than thirty-three thousand restaurants in a hundred and eighteen different countries. Their rise to power was swift and relentless. For more information about their history, see this timeline. *date approximate means that the event in question happened in that year, but with no available exact date. They are under fire for the unhealthiness of their food. I found it quite interesting to look up how many calories the average meal was worth. For example, in a Happy Meal-Two hundred and forty calories for the small fries, three hundred for the cheeseburger, and a hundred and fifty for the small coke. Just under seven hundred thousand calories, and two hundred and ten of them are fat calories.
Wendy's
The man behind Wendy's, Dave Thomas, foreshadowed his success in the fast food industry from the start. He got his first job at age twelve and worked almost continuously thereafter. As a boy, he loved going to family-style restaurants and watching the people there interact. He was still a child when he decided he wanted to one day open his own restaurant. His third job was at a restaurant. He actually dropped out of school at a rather young age to peruse his dream, working at the Hobby House Restaurant, where he'd stay for many years and where he met his wife.
Not long after his return from the army, he opened the Ranch House Restaurant with his boss, which proved to be interesting-he met Colonel Sanders there, which resulted in him being presented with an amazing deal. If Dave could save four KFC restaurants from being shut down, he'd be given forty-five percent of the business. He accepted the challenge with little deliberation and succeeded. He was a millionaire by the late sixties.
In 1969, he opened Wendy's Old-Fashioned Hamburger Restaurant in Ohio. It was named for his youngest daughter. For more information, see this timeline, which was based heavily off of this timeline.
Not long after his return from the army, he opened the Ranch House Restaurant with his boss, which proved to be interesting-he met Colonel Sanders there, which resulted in him being presented with an amazing deal. If Dave could save four KFC restaurants from being shut down, he'd be given forty-five percent of the business. He accepted the challenge with little deliberation and succeeded. He was a millionaire by the late sixties.
In 1969, he opened Wendy's Old-Fashioned Hamburger Restaurant in Ohio. It was named for his youngest daughter. For more information, see this timeline, which was based heavily off of this timeline.