McDonald’s was founded on May 15, 1940, 82 years ago in San Bernardino, California. It was made a franchise corporation in 15 April 1955.
The first McDonald's was opened in San Bernardino, California, on May 15, 1940, by siblings Richard and Maurice McDonald. White Castle had put into practice the principles of the modern fast-food restaurant that the brothers introduced in 1948, but they expanded their use of the same principles in 1948.
The original McDonald's mascot was a chef hat on top of a hamburger, which was referred to as “Speedee”. In 1962, the Golden Arches replaced Speedee as McDonald's universal mascot. In 1965, Ronald McDonald was introduced as the mascot of McDonald's. He appeared in advertising to target their audience of children.
On May 4, 1961, McDonald's filed its first trademark application for the name “McDonald's” with the description “Drive-In Restaurant Services” with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, which continues to be renewed. McDonald's filed for a trademark on a new logo that had an overlap of the M symbol.
McDonald's used a single arch for their buildings previously. Although the Golden Arches logo appeared in various forms, the present version was not used until November 18, 1968, when the company was granted a U.S. trademark.
The present corporation credits its founding to franchised businessman Ray Kroc on April 15, 1955. This was the ninth McDonald's restaurant opened, but the location was destroyed and rebuilt in 1984. Kroc was known to be an aggressive business partner, who drove the McDonald brothers out of the industry.
As documented in Kroc’s autobiography, Kroc and the McDonald brothers fought for control of the business. In 1961, he bought out the McDonald brothers and started to expand the company worldwide. During that time, the sale cost the company $2.7 million. In 1971, the San Bernardino restaurant was torn down, and the site was sold to the Juan Pollo chain in 1998.
This area serves as the headquarters for the Juan Pollo chain, as well as a McDonald's and a Route 66 museum. McDonald's has become a symbol of globalization and the spread of the American way of life because of its expansion into many international markets.
Who was Ray Kroc?
Raymond Albert Kroc was an American businessman who was born on October 5, 1902, and died on January 14, 1984. He bought the company McDonald's in 1961 and was its CEO from 1967 to 1973. Kroc is credited with making McDonald's the most successful fast food company in the world.
Because of the company's rapid growth under Kroc, he has also been referred to as the founder of the McDonald's Corporation. He owned the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball from 1974 to 1984 after retiring from McDonald's.
Kroc is credited with making many changes to the food-service franchise model. The main thing was that they only sold single-store franchises instead of bigger, territory franchises, which was what people usually did in the business at the time. Kroc saw that selling exclusive licenses for large markets was the quickest way for a franchisor to make money, but he also saw in this practice a loss of control over the course and direction of a chain's development.
Above all else, Kroc wanted consistency in service and quality at all of the McDonald's restaurants. Knowing that he would have a difficult time achieving that goal without the ability to influence franchisees, Kroc decided to ignore that goal. By giving a franchisee the rights to one store at a time, Kroc retained control over the franchisee, or at least those who want to someday own the rights to another store.
Kroc's policies for McDonald's included only building locations in the suburbs. These locations could not be built in downtown or urban areas because poor people might break in and use the restaurant after the main business hours were over. Restaurants had to be kept clean at all times, and the staff had to be clean, well groomed, and nice to children.
The food was supposed to be the same in every restaurant and could not be changed in any way. Kroc insisted that there would be no waste of anything; every condiment container was to be scraped completely clean.
FAQs
Q. When did McDonald’s start?
A. McDonald’s was founded on May 15, 1940.
Q. Who founded McDonald’s?
A. McDonald’s was founded by siblings Richard and Maurice McDonald, but later was turned into a franchise corporation and eventually bought by Ray Kroc.
Q. How old is McDonald’s?
A. The original brand is 82 years old, while the franchise corporation was founded in 1955, making it 67 years old.
Q. Who is the CEO of McDonald’s?
A. Christopher John Kempczinski is the president and chief executive officer of McDonald's Corporation.
