Fast Food
Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese,
pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun . . .
Burger Chef
Burger Chef was bought out by Hardee's in the late 80s
 McDonald's
The first McDonalds franchise (with golden arches specifically
designed to attract passing motorists) opened in Phoenix, Arizona
in 1953.
"Speedee", the original McDonalds mascot,
lasted until 1960 when the 'hamburger loving clown' Ronald
McDonald took over his coveted position. (and what the hell has
happened to Mayor McCheese?).
"Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese,
pickles, onions in a sesame seed bun" - If you said it in
under 2 seconds they gave you a free big Mac.
By the 1990s, nearly $30 billion worth of McDonald's hamburgers
were being sold worldwide each year.
Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC)
Harland David Sanders (a.k.a. "Colonel Sanders") was
a grandfatherly southern gentleman who opened what would be the
first in a chain of Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants in Corbin,
Kentucky in 1932 in a lunchroom behind his gas station. The
restaurant was soon listed in Duncan Hines (a renown food critic)
guidebook Adventures in Good Eating.
In 1934 Kentucky Governor Rudy Laffoon so liked Sanders' food
that he bestowed upon him the honorary title of a Kentucky
Colonel. By 1937, Sander's Cafe seated 142 customers who often
came for the Colonel's specially prepared southern fried chicken
which contained a "secret blend of eleven herbs and
spices." His trademark formula (which the Colonel claimed
could be found on everybody's kitchen shelves at home) became the
most guarded one in history of advertising (outside of the
Coca-Cola formula).
After 1950 the Colonel began to dress the part in his know
famous white suit, black string tie and white goatee beard.
In 1964, Sanders sold the flourishing Kentucky Fried Chicken
Corporation for $2 million. However, by retaining the
"Kentucky Colonel" as a roving ambassador, and
instituting his image as the corporate icon, the company was able
to continue promoting its product as "finger lickin'
good" chicken in the best tradition of Southern-fried home
cooking.
One TV spot in the 1960s showed an angry housewife who
kidnapped the Colonel, interrogated him in an abandoned warehouse
and demanded he give up his secret recipe. Of course, he didn't.
In 1975, Colonel Sanders was sued unsuccessfully for libel when
he publicly referred to Kentucky Fried Chicken gravy as
"sludge" and that it had a "wallpaper taste."
While not representing KFC, the Colonel contributed money to a
number of charities and community organization and at the age of
eighty-seven, he testified against the mandatory retirement before
a Select Subcommittee on Aging.
Finally, on December 16, 1980 Harland Sanders, died at the age
of 90. He was buried in Louisville's Cave Hill Cemetery. His
legacy has now been franchised worldwide to new generations who
still find his chicken "Finger Lickin' Good."
The "down home" identity was somewhat compromised by
PepsiCo's $840 million buyout in 1986. The company was re-branded
"KFC" - the word "fried" deemed inappropriate
in an era of consumer health-consciousness - and integrated with
other PepsiCo-owned fast food chains, Taco Bell and Pizza
Hut
The Colonel Harland Sanders museum at the KFC Headquarters,
located west of Interstate 264 (exit 15A) in Louisville, Kentucky,
traces the history of the Colonel's chicken empire.
In 1977, video games giant Atari opened the first Chuck E
Cheese restaurant - a nightmarish "fun for the whole
family" eatery featuring robotic animals and electronic
games.
By the 1980s, while people still enjoyed McDonalds over any
other burger joint, Wendy's was emerging as a competitor
and Burger King was a very close second.
'Happy Meals' were a large factor in McDonalds success, and
eventually Burger King came up with their alternative - Kids Club
- the "Kids Only" meal which included prizes as well.
Extremely popular were their Burger Buddies (little hamburgers and
cheeseburgers that came in threes).
In Britain, the Wimpy Bar had appeared in 1955.
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