Fast Food NationChapter 1: The American Way

Carl N. Karcher

• Fast-food pioneer• Started his career with a hot-dog stand in

California• Bought a restaurant in 1945– Drive-in barbeque

Richard and Maurice McDonald

• Burger Bar Drive-In (1937)• In the 1940s, the wanted a new way to prepare the

food• Created the first assembly line in a kitchen• *Condiments: ketchup, onions, mustard, and two

pickles. (They allowed no substitutions).• Only hired men to work because they thought the

females would attract male teens, which would drive customers away.

• Created the new design of the two golden arches to form the “M”

“Founding Fathers”• William Rosenberg– Dropped out at fourteen– Delivered telegrams for Western Union– Drove an ice-Cream truck– Sold sandwiches and coffee in Boston– In 1948, opened a small doughnut shop• Later became Dunkin’ Doughnuts

• Glen W. Bell, Jr.– WWII Veteran– Ate at the McDonald’s and wanted to use

the idea with Mexican Food– Founded Taco Bell

“Founding Fathers” continued

• Keith G. Cramer– Owned Keith’s Drive-In Restaurants– Ate at McDonalds, then returned back to Florida– With father-in-law, Matthew Burns, opened the first

Insta-Burger-King in 1953• Dave Thomas– Began working in a restaurant at 12, dropped

out of school at 15– Was a busboy and cook– Opened his own restaurant in Columbus, Ohio• Wendy’s Old-Fashioned Hamburgers

“Founding Fathers” cont.

• Thomas S. Monaghan– Spent childhood in orphanages and foster homes– Barely graduated from high school– Joined the Marines– He and his brother bought a pizzeria for $75.– His brother quit shortly after– The business later became Dominos

“Founding Fathers” cont.• Harland Sanders– Left school at 12– Worked as a farm hand, mule tender, and railway

fireman– Worked as a lawyer and obstetrician

• Didn’t have a law degree or medical degree– Sold insurance and tires and operated a gas station in

Corbin, Kentucky– In the back of gas station, he sold home cooked food– He later opened a popular restaurant and hotel

• He eventually sold them to pay off debts.– At 65, he became a traveling salesman, offering to sell

his “secret recipe.”

“Founding Fathers” cont.

• Harland Sanders (cont.)– Opened the first Kentucky Fried Chicken in 1952• Near Salt Lake City, Utah

– Dressed up as a Kentucky colonel to promote the KFC chain

– By the 1960s, KFC was the largest fast food chain

Other Venues

• Not all restaurants survived• Those with homey names– Sandy’s, Carrol’s, Henry’s

• Chains with “futuristic” names– Satellite Hamburger System, Kelly’s Jet System

• Chains named after their main dish– Burger Chefs, Burger Queens, Yumy Burgers,

Twitty Burgers

Technological Advances

• Remote control ordering systems• Rail system food delivery to cars• “Miracle Insta Machines” (Burger King)– Milkshakes– Cook burgers

Oil Embargo

• Gave a scare to the fast food industry.• Stock in the fast food fell• When crisis was over, industry received a

boom• Wall Street began to invest in industry• Corporate managers enter

the scene, rather than small owners running restaurants.

Carl Karcher Enterprises

• 1976, the new headquarters opened• 35 years after buying his first hotdog stand– He now owned more than one hundred

restaurants• Friends with many notable Americans– Ronald Reagan, Gene Autry, former president

Richard Nixon

CKE (cont.)

• In 1980s went public, they expanded too fast– The value of the stock fell– 1988: Carl and family charged with insider trading

by the SEC– Early 1990s: many investments went bankrupt– He soon became involved in more than two dozen

lawsuits– He owed more than $70 million to various banks

CKE

• When Carl’s brother died, the new president tried to increase sales

• March 1, 1993:– After failed attempt to remove board members– Carl was removed from the board on a 5 to 2 vote• Carl and his son were the only opposed

– After 50 years, he was no longer able to enter the business he had created

William P. Foley II

• Financier who financed Carl’s takeover of the company.

• The new management turned the company around• In 1997, CKE purchased Hardee’s for $327 million

• Carl always refused to declare bankruptcy– He was $8 million in debt– Last life goal was to pay off all of his debts.