Who is the creator of McDonald's. World's first McDonald's restaurant

The first McDonald's fast food restaurant in Moscow was opened on January 31, 1990. On the first day of operation, the restaurant on Pushkinskaya Square served more than 30 thousand visitors, setting a world record for the first working day in the history of McDonald's.

The first restaurant of the company was opened in Moscow on Pushkinskaya Square (Bolshaya Bronnaya, 29) on January 31, 1990. The first McDonald's in Russia was half state-owned - 51% of the company belonged to the Moscow government. Even in the logo of the Russian McDonald's there was the symbolism of the USSR.

Before opening a restaurant, McDonald's built a completely independent organization with its own potato farms in the Moscow region, its own processing plants for the production of hamburger buns, meat, apple pies and other products for restaurants. A giant processing and distribution complex was built in the Solntsevo area. In total, the company invested about $50 million in its project in the USSR.

Then the construction of the restaurant itself began. The key figures in this process were Canadian managers who personally came to Moscow to control everything on the spot.

McDonald's appeared in Russia thanks to George Cohan, the chairman of the board of directors of the Canadian company. The first negotiations began in 1976 at the Montreal Olympics. The agreement on the establishment of a joint venture between the Canadian company "McDonald's Restaurants of Canada Limited" and the Main Department of Public Catering of the Moscow City Executive Committee - "Moscow-McDonald's" was signed on April 29, 1988 in Moscow.

Previously, a very popular cafe "Lira" was located on this place - before the introduction of dry law, the bar was famous for its cocktails and was a favorite meeting place for Moscow students.

A large-scale renovation in the building of the former cafe "Lira" began in May 1989. The windows were sealed with paper, and what the insides were, one could only guess. No images of the future interior before the opening were released to the press. The only thing that indicated the future restaurant was a huge red and yellow sign. Pictured is the installation of the sign.

In preparation for the opening of the poppy, the building underwent a major overhaul, adding an extension to the building and changing the light color scheme to bright corporate colors (in one of the articles from the 1990s, the restaurant is called a gingerbread house for its brightness).

The first fast-food establishment had 900 seats inside the building and 200 more in the summer outdoor area.

A few weeks before the opening, advertisements appeared in Moscow newspapers recruiting staff for the first McDonald's. More than 25,000 applications were submitted for 630 places. Guaranteed pay - 2 rubles per hour, shift work.

It was unusual for new hires to have to address their superiors by their first names, and courtesy to customers and cleanliness were the main rules. Monthly earnings depended on output and could reach 300 rubles, which, compared with scholarships and earnings of young specialists, was a very large amount.

The new establishment, familiar to the West, but in sharp contrast to the traditional Soviet public catering, became a real sensation for the Land of the Soviets.

There were so many people who wanted to try American food that on the opening day, a line lined up at the McDuck, which became the longest in the history of the brand: a line of people half a kilometer long completely skirted Novopushkinsky Square.

On the opening day, George Cohan, the head of the Canadian McDonald's, cut the red ribbon, said a few parting words. Then he began shaking hands with almost everyone who came in.

It is interesting that, as eyewitnesses say, the very first visitors were not those standing in line and not party workers, but the children of one of the Moscow orphanages. The day before the opening, they were brought by bus and invited to a cafe where they were treated to free hamburgers.

In 1990, a Big Mac cost 3.75 rubles, while the average Soviet salary was 150 rubles. For comparison: a monthly bus ticket cost 3 rubles.

The restaurant had a standard menu for the chain in those years. From drinks you could choose Coca-Cola, Fanta, Sprite and milkshakes (vanilla, chocolate, strawberry). Visitors to McDonald's tried a completely new product for them - ice cream with toppings (strawberry, caramel and chocolate). And the famous apple pie became an absolute bestseller from the very beginning.

The world's largest chain of fast food restaurants started as a small barbeque bar in 1940 in San Bernardino, California. Founded by brothers Richard and Maurice MacDonald, the network has grown so much since then that it now serves 68 million daily visitors in 119 countries. Well, the very first restaurant was called "McDonald's Famous Barbeque" and offered its visitors about forty types of fried meat. In this article we will not only tell you about the very first restaurant, but also about the history of one of the largest and most famous in the world In the photo below you can see exactly that original restaurant in its original form.

A key turning point in the restaurant's business came in 1948, after the McDonald brothers realized that most of their profits came from selling hamburgers. Then they decided on a bold and drastic step - they completely close the restaurant and remake the interior space into a simple conveyor system for cooking hamburgers. The simple menu included just a few types of burgers, chips and orange juice. French fries and Coca Cola were added the following year. This simplified menu, as well as a simple assembly line system, allowed them to sell hamburgers for 15 cents, which was half the price of other restaurants in the city.

In 1953, the brothers were already granting licenses to open a McDonald's chain in neighboring cities. Three more fast food outlets were opened in Phoenix, Arizona, and Downey, California. The restaurant in Downey is today one of the oldest surviving restaurants. In 1945, the brothers brought in Ray Kroc, a salesman for milkshake machines, to open restaurants across the country. April 15, 1955 McDonalds became a corporation. The company calls its first restaurant Original McDonald's, since it was from it that the corporation's phenomenal success story began. Recently, we also wrote about the Coca-Cola Museum, McDonald's constant partner almost from the moment it was founded. The McDonald's Museum is located in San Bernardino, where you can see a replica of the restaurant with original equipment, including Ray Kroc's multi milkshake machines.Shown here are also various uniforms of employees of the restaurant during different periods of its operation.There is also a collection of vintage ads, photos and videos dedicated to the history of McDonalds.The photo below is 1950- 1999. Customers at McDonald's restaurant:

Photo taken in 1955, this is Ray Kroc's first restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois:

Exterior of the first store in Des Plaines, Illinois:

Team McDonald's Des Plaines:

The exterior of the first fast food restaurant with its neon arches, 1955:

The grounds of the first McDonald's restaurant, San Bernardino, California:

McDonalds Museum in Des Plaines, Illinois:

The first ever McDrive hosted in Sierra Vista, Arizona:

Fred Turner and Ray Kroc are considering a project for a future restaurant:

And here is the very oldest McDonald's in Downey, California. The restaurant has not changed much since it was opened in 1953:

In conclusion, a few photos from the McDonalds museum:

World fame, leadership in the field of fast food, a huge charge of pleasure, joy - such associations are caused by the McDonald's brand. Every year the company is actively developing, exaggerating capital, improving work with customers, growing a network of restaurants. It is hard to believe that the founders of the greatest corporation were simple assemblers of Hollywood scenery. Read more about the development of McDonald's Corporation, the ups and downs of the company, read on.

The McDonald brothers at the origins of the brand

The oldest operating restaurant
McDonald's Worldwide (Downey, California, USA)
Photo: Brybry26

Two brothers from San Bernardino (USA, California) were the first to create the company. Maurice and Richard MacDonald, having amassed a small fortune as Hollywood set builders, in 1940 they decided to open their own business. It was a car cafe.

The business began to generate income. Noting the success of investments, the brothers decided to make some adjustments. The updated diner had a fundamentally new way of cooking. The innovation was in the creation of a technological line. The process of cooking, serving was divided into positions, each of them was assigned to a separate employee. The actions of the personnel were simple and of the same type, but their sequence was strictly observed. The idea became fundamental to the fast food business.

The conveyor technology for preparing light breakfasts, hamburgers, and other fast food dishes was successfully launched and enjoyed success. The range of cafes was reduced to 11 items. The clarity, the sequence of actions of the staff accelerated the throughput of the cafe, brought the McDonald business to a high level of income.

Not only the specifics of the work distinguished the cafe from the gray mass of such establishments. The bright decoration of the diner in the form of golden arches with neon lights on a red, sloping roof attracted the attention of passing cars. This decor, conveyor technology for cooking fast food, McDonald's adheres to this day.

1948 - an ordinary roadside restaurant re-qualified as a McDonald's fast food cafe. The new way of doing business in a short period of time significantly exaggerated the income of the brothers. New dishes appeared, self-service was partially introduced. Low prices, speed of preparation increased the rating of the diner.

The rebirth of McDonald's

Despite the sales success, the cafe would not have achieved worldwide fame without Ray Kroc. He gave a new impetus to the development of the fast food method invented by the brothers, created the McDonald's corporation.

Ray Kroc before founding McDonald's Systems Inc. He tried many professions: an ambulance driver, a pianist, a real estate agent in Florida. With brothers McDonald Rhea brought together his last activity - the sale of paper cups, mixers for fast food establishments. The idea of a business interested Krok, he began to cooperate with them.

Since 1955, Kroc has been opening McDonald's restaurants one by one in neighboring US states, actively selling franchises to open similar establishments throughout the country, increasing the brand's popularity and its own income.

1961 - Ray Kroc for 2.7 million dollars becomes the full owner of McDonald's, further merits, brand ups belong to him.

You can learn a lot of interesting facts from the history of McDonald's development from our video.

Path to glory

Since 1968, McDonald's restaurants began to conquer other countries. First fast food restaurant to open in Canada. After 12 years, establishments appeared in Europe, Asia, Latin America, Australia and Africa.

July 1971 - Japan's fastest-growing restaurant opens (39 hours). The first day of the institution's operation brought the owner $3,000.

1990 - McDonald's conquered Russia.

To increase the respectability of the restaurant chain, Ray Kroc made bold, unexpected discoveries. For example, he contributed to the opening of the University of Hamburgerology, which produced senior managers in an international format.

2010 - over 31 thousand McDonald's restaurants around the world were celebrated. The number of service personnel exceeded 1.5 million people, and the net profit reached 4.9 billion dollars.

Until 2016, McDonald's was one of the top ten global brands. The financiers of the world admire the success and rapid growth of the company. As evidence in the financial world, there is the "Big Mac Index" in honor of the double-decker hamburger that increased the brand's turnover by 12% in 1968.

Formula for success

McDonald's is the world's largest chain of restaurant business, expanding into new countries every year. A clear concept of doing business and strict adherence to the rules helped him achieve such heights in the shortest possible time.

Krok formulated the KKChiD system, the current management of the company does not deviate from it. It resembles a kind of corporate philosophy applicable anywhere in the world. The famous system assumes unconditional observance of 4 postulates:

quality;
culture;
purity;
availability.

The peculiarity of the brand lies in its flexibility to the traditions of individual cultures, peoples. Restaurants opened in Islamic states (Saudi Arabia, Oman, other countries) are decorated without portraits, posters of Ronald McDonald, as these states are opponents of idols. They do not have dairy products, and Saturday is a day off. And in India, ram meat is used to make a sandwich, and not beef, pork.

Ray Kroc issued the charter of the corporation, which is strictly adhered to today. At 750 pages, all sorts of complexities, disputes, issues that management, staff may face, and their resolution were considered.

In the early restaurants, McDonald's eateries, there were no women among the staff. Ray Kroc was sure that the fair half distracts wealthy visitors, slows down service, and hinders the rapid development of business. Later, Kroc had to change this rule, women began to be hired, but with strict conditions: a mandatory uniform (closed shirt with pants), no makeup, loose hair.

Interesting video: business review of the film "Founder" (McDonald's story)

Competitors and McDonald's

McDonald's is not the only fast food chain known in the world. The brand has competitors: Subway, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Papa Johns Pizza, Pizza Hut, but Burger King is considered the main opponent in the competitive battle.

These brands are included in the Top 10 famous fast food restaurants in the world. It would seem that the same direction and different views on doing business.

Let's talk about the differences between McDonald's and its competitors:

conservatism is the main principle of the brand. The management of the corporation is in no hurry to introduce new dishes, experiment with tastes, cooking techniques, unlike Burger King;
accessibility - the main emphasis in business development Krok did on mass sales of products. Hamburgers should be accessible to everyone, for the sake of this item the brand has risked its own income more than once;
the emphasis of the company is on the average class, so the quality and usefulness of dishes sometimes lag behind. In this parameter, McDonald's and Burger King were noticeably inferior to the Subway brand;
cleanliness is another McDonald's forte. The management of the company strictly monitors the observance of sanitation in institutions;
McDonald's establishments exclude the sale of alcoholic beverages.

It should be noted Cons of the McDonald's Brand:

a relatively narrow assortment, despite the impressive age of the brand in the catering market;
a large amount of "junk food" filled with fats, calories, harmful additives. Only in recent years has the company added low-calorie meals to the menu.

McDonald's in Russia

The first McDonald's fast food restaurant appeared in 1990 in Moscow. At its opening, the first record of the corporation was set, the institution served 30 thousand visitors. Dishes and their presentation differed significantly from the usual Soviet views, the novelty instantly fell in love with Muscovites and guests of the city.

After 2 years, 2 more metropolitan restaurants appeared. Business development took place at a rapid pace, one after another, new establishments were opened throughout Russia.

2014 - in Moscow alone, the number of McDonald's restaurants and eateries reached 126. At the beginning of 2017, 586 establishments were operating in Russia.

Over the years of painstaking work, McDonald's establishments have served over 3 billion Russians.

Russia plays an important role for the brand as a supplier of high-quality, natural raw materials. Almost all products for the country's establishments are provided by Russian manufacturers.

McDonald's today

Since 2009, McDonald's has been actively supporting the trend for a clean ecology of the planet, the world-famous logo in the form of a golden letter "M" on a red background has been changed. Now the golden letter is located on a dark green canvas.

McDonald's Corporation is a business masterpiece. Its management closely monitors the preferences of customers, does everything to deliver maximum pleasure.

Restaurants and cafes have free Wi-Fi, and for clients who are worried about their figure, the menu includes low-calorie dishes.

The company has a wide network abroad. The countries of the "big six" deserve special attention: Canada, Germany, Japan, Australia, France and the United Kingdom. They provide 80% of the foreign income of the corporation.

Today James Skinner is in charge of the great corporation.

The most popular McDonald's remains in Japan, with over 2,500 establishments located there.

McDonald's is the greatest brand in the modern world with its pros and cons. A rapid rise, many records, world fame, a fair price-quality ratio are his main achievements.

There is probably no such person on the planet who has not heard about the McDonald's fast food restaurant. It has become extremely popular all over the world, turning the idea of what fast food should be and how you can quickly feed thousands of people, creating an endless stream of visitors. In this article, we will look athow this company has grown and developed, and what it has managed to achieve in 80 years of existence.

History of appearance

McDonald's owes its history to the Great Depression that hit the United States in the 1930s. Two brothers, Maurice and Richard, who had previously worked as decorators in Hollywood, realized that incomes were constantly falling and it was impossible to survive on a salary.

The first McDonald's looked like this

They move to the warm town of San Bernardino, located in California. Further events develop according to the following scenario:

In the early 40s, they open the first cinema in the city, but it does not bring much profit, because the population has too little income.
In the mid-40s, the situation in the United States improves significantly, but the cinema still does not pay off, so the brothers decide to change their profile and open a diner near the highway, designed for motorists passing by.

The McDonads use two intersecting gold arches in the form of the letter M, decorated with neon lights, as an advertisement - today this symbol is known all over the world.The brothers are doing well - the place turned out to be successful, a large number of travelers stop at them, and some of them leave the diner without waiting for their order. Therefore, the McDonalds decide to streamline food production by organizing an assembly line, like in a Ford factory. They independently develop a scheme for arranging equipment and moving products around the kitchen in such a way as to simplify the process as much as possible and minimize the actions of personnel. Then they close the cafe and start a complete refurbishment.

The brothers purchase professional stainless steel equipment and modify it to create a full-fledged kitchen conveyor with a clear sequence of personnel actions. They also reduce the menu, completely throwing out from it dishes that require long cooking (grill, etc.). Instead of two dozen dishes, only 11 dishes remain on the menu, which require minimal cooking effort: a cheeseburger, a hamburger, coffee, milk, various pies, cold drinks, cocktails and french fries. Moreover, the principle of self-service was introduced - visitors could take what they like themselves, paying at the checkout. Another important step was taken - the brothers made a bet on a huge flow and minimal profit, reducing the prices of hamburgers and cheeseburgers from the generally accepted 30 cents to 15. A new cafe was opened at the end of 1948 - this particular the founding date is considered the birthday of McDonald's in its current form.

Croc's coming

The flow-oriented cafe became popular on its second day of opening, and by the end of 1949, it had made a profit of $400,000, which at the time was considered a huge sum. The cafe served several hundred customers a day, which was considered incredible for an establishment of this size. Moreover, it led to the development of local producers of meat, potatoes, milk and buns - several farms worked to ensure the operation of the cafe, which previously could not make ends meet due to the small number of sales.

The diner continues to work, the brothers become richer, but they simply do not have time to develop - the cafe is 100% loaded and takes away all the free time from the owners. Therefore, they begin to think about opening a second institution, but simply do not have time to do it. And then the brothers meet with a man named Ray Kroc, who, in fact, became the organizer of the first fast food empire.

Today this logo is known all over the world.

At the time of the meeting with the McDonalds, Croc was 52 of the year . He was a man with rich life experience. At the age of 15, he worked as a chauffeur at a local ambulance station, after which he played in a band in bars, sold real estate and various accessories. He ended up selling cocktail mixers. In the mid-1950s, the McDonalds approached him, deciding to purchase ten mixers. It was a very large order - not all restaurants could afford such equipment, but here it was a roadside eatery, so Krok was very interested and decided to visit this institution on his own.

Arriving at the place, he saw an amazing picture - there was a huge queue of dozens of cars in the cafe, but it moved very quickly - the flow was serviced at an incredible speed, drivers and their passengers raked hamburgers and cheeseburgers from the windows, received soft drinks and went on, and on The entire procedure took one machine less than a minute. And Ray realized that such a system of work is the future. He not only sold the brothers equipment at a good discount, but also offered his services to develop a franchise to increase profits several times over. And speaking frankly, who created McDonald's, we owe it to Ray for his world fame.

Thank you for visiting the McDonald's website. We try to do everything to ensure that our visitors respect the McDonald's trademark and products, including complying with obligations to protect personal data and the right to privacy. We also protect and safeguard the privacy of children visiting our site.

Thank you again for visiting our website and for your trust in McDonald's.

McDonald's Internet Privacy Policy

McDonald's Corporation is pleased to provide information to all of its customers about its privacy policy. Please be assured that McDonald's takes all reasonable steps to protect the privacy of visitors to this site.

The Types of Information We Collect and How It's Used

McDonald's believes it may collect personal information such as name, address and email address if you voluntarily provide it to us. For example, personal information may be collected from you in order to respond to your questions about the McDonald's website, McDonald's products, or when you register on the website to enter competitions organized by McDonald's.

Sharing of Personal Information

McDonald's may share personal information within the McDonald's family. The McDonald's family is McDonald's Corporation, our licensees, our divisions and affiliates. Of course, such information will only be used by the McDonald's family in accordance with this policy. From time to time, with your permission, we will send you marketing information, such as information about discount coupons, new products, etc. If you indicate that you do not want to receive such materials, we will not send them to you.

McDonald's may engage other companies to perform a number of functions, such as fulfilling orders, assisting with marketing programs, providing technical services for our websites, and so on. These companies may have access to personal data as necessary to perform such functions. However, these companies may only use such personal data to perform this function and may not use it for any other purpose.

McDonald's does not sell, transfer or disclose personal information to third parties outside of the McDonald's family. However, with your permission, we will occasionally send marketing information on behalf of one of our business partners about their products and services that may be of interest to you. You may be asked if you would like to receive marketing materials from McDonald's business partners. If you indicate that you wish to receive such materials, McDonald's will not share information about your personal data with these partners, but will send a postal item or E-Mail on behalf of the partners.

McDonald's reserves the right to use or disclose any information to comply with any law, regulation or legal request, to protect the integrity of the site, to comply with your requests, and to cooperate with any law enforcement or public safety investigation. .

Our Children's Privacy Policy

McDonald's is very sensitive to privacy issues. We are proud of our long-term commitment to our visitors. We are especially careful in any communication with one of the categories of visitors that we especially appreciate - children.

On our websites, we offer things like games and coloring pages that do not require the child to provide any personal information. We collect only limited information about personal data from children under 12 years of age (for example, their email addresses) to respond to their on-line inquiries. For example, we may get a child's email address to send them a screen saver, but we immediately delete the email address from our system. Alternatively, we may obtain the child's email address so that we can enter their details to participate in the prize draw. We may also ask the child to provide the parent's email address so that we can notify or obtain consent. Without the consent of a parent or guardian, we will not collect more detailed information from a child under the age of 12, such as mailing address, telephone number. McDonald's will not require a child to provide more personal information than is reasonably necessary for on-line operation as a condition of the child's online operation. Personal information collected from children is used exclusively by McDonald's and other organizations that provide technical, executive or other services to McDonald's. These organizations may provide services such as improving our site, fulfilling requests, or administering sweepstakes. Information about personal data is not sold or transferred to third parties.

Access

You are in control of any Personal Information that you have provided to us. At any time, if you wish, you can correct Personal Information or change your preferences for contact from McDonald's or the McDonald's Family, you can notify us by sending notice to the email address below.

In order to review, delete, change any of your personal information we have, we ask that you send us such a notice.

In order to review, delete, change any personal information we have about your child, we ask that you send us such notice

Links to Other Sites

We may offer links to sites that are not operated by McDonald's. If you visit one of these sites, you should review their privacy and personal information policies. We are not responsible for the policies and practices of other companies, and any information you provide to such companies is subject to their privacy policies.

McDonald's sites outside of Russia

All McDonald's Sites operated by the McDonald's Corporation will adhere to this privacy policy. Some Policies may change depending on local laws or circumstances unique to such countries. However, in all cases, the sites operated by McDonald's Corporation will comply with the obligations to our visitors set out in this policy regarding the collection, use and dissemination of personal information.