Most people think that the McDonald brothers from California started the fast food craze in America, but in reality, it was the White Castle hamburger chain that started the history of fast food in America. J. Walter Anderson opened the first White Castle in 1916 in Wichita, Kansas, and people liked the cheap burgers, fries, and colas it offered. However, fast food didn’t really become common in America until after World War II, when Americans started falling in love with their cars and had free time and more money to spend on eating out.

McDonald brothers

The true heroes of American fast food history are Richard and Maurice McDonald, the two brothers who created the first McDonald’s restaurant in 1948 in San Bernardino, California. They wanted their restaurant to be more efficient and profitable, so they designed a simple menu in a small building with no tables, for people to take their food and eat in their cars. By 1953, the brothers had decided to franchise their idea and two franchises were opened in Downey, California and Phoenix, Arizona.

Impersonators

As McDonald’s became more successful, others began to take notice and copy its example to make their own history of fast food in America. Keith Cramer started a Florida operation that would become Burger King, and Ray Kroc, a blender salesman, was so impressed with McDonald’s that he asked the brothers if he could sell their franchises. He opened his own McDonald’s in Des Plaines, Illinois in 1954 and eventually bought the brothers and became the owner of the corporation. Kroc was the driving force behind the fantastic growth of the food chain across America in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Wendy’s was created by Dave Thomas in Columbus, Ohio, where the first restaurant opened in 1962.

More newcomers

As fast food became popular and more people decided they liked to dine in their cars; more fast food stores popped up across the country. Jack-in-the-Box began in San Diego, California in 1951, and by 1960 it had spread outside of California to other areas. Troy Smith opened the first SONIC Drive-In in 1954 in Shawnee, Oklahoma, Dunkin ‘Donuts first opened in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1950, and the first Taco Bell opened in 1962 in Downey, California. All of these operations based their business, at least loosely, on the McDonald’s operation and later modified it to work with their specialty foods.

Today’s story

Today, fast food chains have spread across the world and spread American culture along with them. There are many more popular chains, such as Carl’s Jr., Arby’s, Domino’s, and Dairy Queen, indicating that fast food isn’t always about burgers. In fact, pizza, Chinese food, and just about any type of food imaginable are now available to-go at fast food chains around the world. The history of fast food in America is truly the foundation of fast food as we know it today, and that history has made many of the people who first established the concept of fast food millionaires.