McDonald's restaurants
McDonald's is a globally recognized fast-food restaurant chain that originated from a modest food stand opened by brothers Maurice (Mac) and Richard (Dick) McDonald in 1937 near Pasadena, California. The brothers expanded their operations to San Bernardino, where they developed a unique approach to fast food, featuring a limited menu and an efficient assembly-line food preparation system. This innovative model distinguished McDonald's from traditional hamburger establishments of the time and capitalized on the post-World War II demographic shifts in the United States, including urban sprawl and the rise of the automobile culture.
In 1954, Ray Kroc joined the company, focusing on franchising and operational efficiency, eventually buying out the McDonald brothers and establishing a widespread franchise network. By the 1970s, McDonald's had become the largest fast-food chain in the United States and began its international expansion, reaching over 15,000 locations worldwide by the mid-1990s. Today, with more than 35,000 restaurants across six continents, McDonald's has become a symbol of American culture and fast food, with its golden arches recognized globally. The brand's influence extends beyond its menu, shaping modern dining and family lifestyles.
McDonald's restaurants
Identification American fast-food hamburger chain restaurant
McDonald’s institutionalized the American fast-food industry during the 1950’s, creating in the hamburger not only a significant characteristic of American culture but also a symbol of American influence abroad.
McDonald’s hamburger restaurant chain was the brainchild of two brothers, Maurice (Mac) and Richard (Dick) McDonald. The McDonald brothers opened their first restaurant, a modest food stand, in 1937, near Pasadena, California. While the stand was a moderately successful venture, the brothers decided to expand their business by moving it to San Bernardino, California, some forty miles away. Mac and Dick saw in the sprawling mobile growth of the greater Los Angeles area a potential for greater success in the fast-food business and decided to capitalize on the momentum.
A marked departure from the typical hamburger establishment of the time, McDonald’s featured large look-in windows, stainless steel walls, and a prominent slanted roof. Inside, the kitchen was entirely exposed so that customers could see the food preparations. A key to success was a limited nine-item menu, an assembly-line food operation using a limited number of employees, and a walk-up self-service window. The approach competed with the prevalent carhops and extensive menus of the day. The MacDonald brothers’ new concept became a hit and marked the beginning of the 1950’s American love affair with hamburger drive-ins. As newer mechanized food preparation improvements were installed, profits quadrupled. By the early 1950’s, the McDonald brothers had expanded their business to fifteen franchises.
The McDonald’s success story was in large part a response to the demographic dynamics of post-World War II America. With some ten million returning military veterans eligible for G.I. Bill housing loan benefits, the United States began to experience urban sprawl, particularly in states such as California. By the early 1950’s, new suburban communities began to emerge across the country. This urban growth was complemented in large measure by the growing postwar baby boom , which accounted for twenty-five million births between 1945 and 1953. These two events—along with an increasing automobile-oriented, mobile society—created an enduring relationship between drive-in restaurants such as McDonald’s and suburban America. Young parents saw fast-food chains as places for quick, cheap, convenient meals that not only met the family budget but also lent themselves nicely to an expanding “on the go” lifestyle.
In 1954, the McDonald brothers hired Ray Kroc to take over franchising operations. Kroc was a visionary who believed that expansion of the business relied on using greater mechanized operational efficiencies and standardizing quality-control measures. By 1960, Kroc had established 228 franchises. At odds with Mac and Dick over management decisions, Kroc bought out the McDonald brothers and took full control of the company for more than two million dollars in 1961, eventually taking the company public in 1965. By the early 1970’s, McDonald’s had become the largest fast-food chain in the United States, going international during the late 1970’s and expanding to more than fifteen thousand restaurants worldwide by the mid-1990’s. By 2016, the number of locations was over 35,000.
Impact
By the end of the 1950’s, McDonald’s had established itself as a “trade name” synonymous with fast food, despite the long list of copy-cat hamburger chains that followed and still compete with McDonald’s today. The restaurant’s legacy is not merely in its Americanization of the hamburger. The name “McDonald’s” has become a hallmark of Americanism globally. Now, with restaurants on six continents, McDonald’s golden arches are as recognizable overseas as the Stars and Stripes.
Bibliography
Kroc, Ray. Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald's. St. Martin's Press, 2016.
Love, John. McDonald’s: Behind the Arches. Rev. ed. New York: Bantam, 1995.
McDonald, Ronald L. The Complete Hamburger: The History of America’s Favorite Sandwich. Secaucus, N.J.: Carol, 1997.
Watson, James L., ed. Golden Arches East: McDonald's in East Asia. 2nd ed. Stanford UP, 2006.