The First McDonald's Opens

This episode delves into the history of the first McDonald's restaurant, opened by Richard and Maurice McDonald in San Bernardino, California, on May 15, 1940.

1. The McDonald brothers pioneered the fast-food concept with a focus on speed and efficiency.
2. Their business model, emphasizing a limited menu and self-service, revolutionized the restaurant industry.
3. Ray Kroc played a crucial role in McDonald's expansion, turning it into a global franchise.
4. The episode illustrates the impact of innovative business models in achieving large-scale success.
5. It highlights the significance of adapting and evolving business strategies in response to market demands.

1: The Opening Day

The chapter discusses the anticipation and preparation of the McDonald brothers on the first day of their restaurant's opening. Richard McDonald: "We wanted to create a place where efficiency and quality go hand in hand."

2: Evolution of McDonald's

This section covers the transformation from a barbecue restaurant to a fast-food model focusing on hamburgers. Maurice McDonald: "Our focus was to simplify operations and reduce costs."

3: The Role of Ray Kroc

Describes Ray Kroc’s discovery of McDonald's and his role in franchising the brand. Ray Kroc: "I saw a golden opportunity with McDonald’s to create something revolutionary."

1. Emphasize efficiency in business operations to improve service and reduce costs.
2. Focus on a few core products that define your brand and meet customer demands.
3. Continually adapt your business model to better fit the evolving market.
4. Explore franchising as a strategy for expansion if you have a successful business model.
5. Recognize and seize opportunities for innovation within your industry.

May 15, 1940. Maurice and Richard McDonald open their McDonald’s Bar-B-Que restaurant in San Bernardino, California. This episode originally aired in 2023.

People

Richard McDonald, Maurice McDonald, Ray Kroc

Companies

McDonald's

Books

None

Guest Name(s):

None

Content Warnings:

None

Lindsey Graham
There are more ways than ever to listen to history daily ad free listen with wondery in the Wondry app as a member of R@R.com or in Apple Podcasts. Or you can get all of history daily, plus other fantastic history podcasts@intohistory.com. Dot.

It'S May 15, 1940 in San Bernardino, California, where where 31 year old Richard and 37 year old Maurice McDonald are excited to open their brand new restaurant, McDonald's barbecue. It's not an especially hot day, but the brothers, better known as Mac and Dick, are sweating as they pace anxiously in their empty parking lot. They have just minutes until their drive up restaurant is set to open for the very first time. Unable to stand around waiting any longer, Dick hurries back into the kitchen, busying himself double, then triple checking that they have everything they need, clean plates, napkins, cutlery, and, of course, the meat. Then he takes a trip back out to the barbecue pit, which is stocked with hickory chips imported from Arkansas.

Satisfied that everything is as it should be, Dick returns to the parking lot, where the tantalizing smell of slow cooking meats already fills the air. He grabs his brother Mac, and together they brief their employees one final time to make sure everyone knows exactly what to do when customers arrive. This barbecue joint is unlike most others. Theres nowhere for customers to sit and eat their food, save for a few stools at the counter. Instead, hungry visitors are encouraged to drive up, then stay in their car and wait for a McDonalds employee to come to them.

These car hops, young women in short skirts and majorette boots will take their orders, then return with the food once its ready. Its not a completely revolutionary idea, but it's new enough for San Bernardino that the brothers are anxious to ensure that everything goes off without a hitch. The McDonald's brothers aren't new to the food service business, but this is their biggest venture yet, and they're feeling the pressure. The moment comes, and as they flip their open sign, a car pulls into the lot and parks. Dick gives a signal to the nearest car hop, and she leaps into action, hurrying over to the driver's window before they can open the door, her pen and notepad poised.

As the driver then reels off his order, the brothers smile. Just maybe everything is going to turn out all right.

For several years now, the McDonnell brothers have been on a mission toward rock solid financial stability. When they were younger, their father was unexpectedly laid off from his decades long job at a shoe manufacturer. He was left with no pension, no severance, and not much of a future. That's when Mack and Dick vowed to make their own fortune so they would never be subject to the whims of a heartless corporation. Seeing their fathers struggle, they decided that they would make $1 million before they were 50, an amount that would surely safeguard their futures.

But the brothers never dreamed of the level of success their restaurant will experience. Despite their nerves and uncertainty, the opening of their new business is just a step in Dick and Mac McDonald's path toward veritable immortality, a journey that begins when the first McDonalds restaurant opens on May 15, 1940.

History Daily is sponsored by Claridon I live in Dallas, the fourth worst city in the United States for allergies. My condolences to number one, Wichita, Kansas, because I cant imagine it any worse than it is here. And remember, I make my living with my voice. No one wants to hear me sniffly and congested. Luckily for those of us who live with the symptoms of allergies, we can live Claritin clear with Claritin Claritin d designed for serious allergy sufferers, Claritin D has two powerful ingredients in just one pill that relieve your allergy symptoms and decongest your nose so you can breathe better.

This double action combination of prescription strength allergy medicine and the best decongestant available relieves sneezing, a runny nose, itchy and watery eyes, itchy nose and throat, and sinus congestion and pressure with ease ready to live life as if you dont have allergies? Its time to live claritin clear. Fast, powerful relief is just a quick trip away. Ask for a claritin d at your local pharmacy counter. No prescription required.

Go to claritin.com right now for a discount so you can live. Claritin Clear uses directed history daily is sponsored by Audible. You ever watch an f one race? Thrilling. Totally get the appeal, but they only last a few hours and often air at inconvenient times.

So instead I get my thrills in a lower dose, stretched out over hours with a good mystery like the penguin modern classic a story of a murder by Patrick Suskind as an audible member, you can choose one title every month to keep forever from the entire catalog of classics, bestsellers, new releases, and audible originals. Ready for listening whenever, wherever on the audible app. New members can try audible free for 30 days. Visit audible.com historydaily or text historydaily to 500 500. Thats audible.com historydaily or text history daily to 500 500.

From Noiser and airship I'm Lindsey Graham, and this is history daily.

History is made every day on this podcast. Every day we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world. Today is May 15, 1940. The first McDonald's opens.

It's the morning of December 12, 1948, in San Bernardino, California. Dick and Mac McDonald are once again waiting in the mostly empty parking lot of their restaurant, eager for customers. But the place looks much different today. For eight years, they ran it as a very successful barbecue stand. But in the fall of 1948, the brothers shut down McDonald's barbecue for renovations.

Now the restaurant has been reimagined. The brothers have streamlined the menu, doing away with less popular items and going all in on their real money makers. Hamburgers. Gone, too, are the waitstaff, who have been replaced by a solitary cashier. Theres also no plates or cutlery in the accompanying dishwashers.

The buildings interior has been refitted to become a hyper efficient kitchen, with staff working on an assembly line to churn out product as fast as possible. The brothers are confident their idea is solid. This new business model will minimize overhead and maximize profits so long as people show up. McDonalds Barbecue has been popular enough that it was bringing in $300,000 in sales every year, over $3 million today. But their brothers hope their revamped restaurant will make even more.

Still, they have their apprehensions. What if people arent interested in this new incarnation? What if they balk at the idea of placing their order at a window? Maybe they wont want to carry hamburgers and potato chips back to their cars in paper bags. But the brothers arent willing to give in to their doubts.

The two siblings are betting that this version of McDonalds is going to be a winner, and they're banking on it. None of their other pursuits has amassed them the fortune they've been dreaming of since their father was laid off years earlier. And they've tested plenty of different ideas. First, the pair tried their luck in Hollywood, working as handymen and set movers for film studios. But something about movie making didn't do it for the two brothers.

So they shifted focus a little and opened a movie theater instead. But the business wasn't very successful. They needed something else. By this time, it was around 1937, and the brothers were living in Monrovia, just east of Los Angeles. There they opened a pair of hot dog stands near the local airport.

Thinking strategically, the men placed the stands on opposite sides of Route 66 so as to capture customers driving in both directions. Motorists could pull up to the small octagonal buildings and order orange juice, hot dogs, and burgers. The busier they got the clearer it was that the McDonald brothers had finally found something they were good at, something that could make them their million dollars. But they werent content to wait for things to happen. Although the business was doing quite well, Monrovia just didnt have a big enough population for the kind of success Mack and dick were after.

So in 1940, they loaded one of their stands onto a truck and drove it 40 miles east to San Bernardino. This larger city offered a thriving customer base for the brothers. A hot dog stand had been fine for people passing through Monrovia, but the people of San Bernardino would surely want something more substantial. So as the brothers oversaw the reconstruction of their building, they made some changes to their business model, too, landing on a drive up barbecue restaurant instead of simple hot dogs and burgers. That restaurant was an overwhelming success.

But the brothers werent content with owning the most popular drive in in town. Theyd worked hard to get themselves where they were, but they knew they could do more with an even better, more lucrative restaurant. One of the main issues they noticed was efficiency. Not only did car hops slow things down, they were attracting the attention of teenagers who liked to hang around the parking lot and flirt with young women. In turn.

That made it difficult for paying customers to pull up to the restaurant. So if Dick and Mac wanted to make improvements, the car hops would be one of the first things to go. There was also the menu. Looking at their books, they noticed that around 80% of their sales were from hamburgers alone. With numbers like that, it just didnt make sense to run a menu with over 20 other items on offer.

So as the summer of 1948 drew to a close, the brothers shut down and put up signs promising that theyd be back soon. With Americas first drive up burger bar now in the middle of the busy holiday season, their opening day is here. If the weather holds up, the brothers have high hopes for the days sales, and theyre counting on word of mouth to help drive business from there. To their delight, Dick and Mac's business alterations will pay off. Before long, customers will line up to enjoy the newest incarnation of McDonald's.

The brothers needn't have worried about their restaurant concept. Its efficiency and popularity will send business soaring, catching the attention of customers and intriguing fellow businessmen. Their new version of McDonald's will not just be a success, it will be the start of a phenomenon, one poised to change the fast food industry industry forever.

History Daily is sponsored by Greenlight. Watching your kids grow is one of the wonders of the world. Every year, they become more and more themselves as they learn to talk, express themselves and reason. But they're still learning lots of lessons along the way, like how expensive that pink Stanley mug really is. And my daughter won't know the value of a dollar unless she's managing it herself.

She earns it herself. She saves it herself. She spends it herself on a pink Stanley mug. Thats where Greenlight comes in. Greenlight is a debit card and money app made for families.

You can send your kids instant money transfers, get real time notifications of spending, managed chores and automate allowance. Meanwhile, your kids build financial literacy and independence by learning to earn, save and spend wisely. Even on pink Stanley mugs, millions of parents and kids are learning about money on greenlight, the easy, convenient way to raise financially smart kids. Sign out for Greenlight today and get your first month free@greenlight.com. Historydaily thats greenlight.com slash historydaily to try Greenlight for free.

Greenlight.com historydaily History Daily is sponsored by Mint Mobile. One of my favorite spring cleaning moments is finishing the windows. Holy wow. The whole house feels brighter, cleaner, better. Like a new home.

Cleaning your phone, it's not the same sort of transformation, though I do recommend wiping down your phone every once in a while. But what about cleaning your phone bill? Well, that you can do and make a radical difference with Mint mobile and unlimited talk, text and data for $15 a month. Because they sell online, Mint Mobile cuts the cost of retail stores and passes those savings to you. And that was perfect for resurrecting an old phone for my daughter.

To get this new customer offer and your new three month unlimited wireless plan for just $15 a month, go to mint mobile.com historydaily. That's mintmobile.com historydaily. Cut your wireless bill to $15 a month@mintmobile.com. Historydaily dollar 45 upfront payment required equivalent to dollar 15 a month new customers on first three month plan only speeds slower above 40gb on unlimited plan. Additional taxes, fees and restrictions.

Apply. C Mint mobile for details.

It's 1954 in Los Angeles, California. 52 year old Ray Kroc steps into a car and starts driving eastward, quickly leaving the airport he just flew into. Ray is in California for a whirlwind visit. But he didnt fly all the way from Illinois to take in the sights of Hollywood or even to relax on the sun drenched beaches of Malibu. Instead, Ray is making a 65 miles drive east to San Bernardino to visit a burger restaurant thats caught his attention.

A driven businessman to the core, Ray did well for himself as a paper cup salesman. When he was younger, he devoted countless hours to learning about his customers businesses, what they needed, what was helpful, and what consumers wanted most. So he felt intimately familiar with the restaurant business. Then, 15 years ago, one of his customers showed him a new invention, a five spindle milkshake machine called the multimixer. At the time, soda shops around the country were almost exclusively using mixers that could only make one shake at a time.

Ray knew that the multimixer had the potential to improve efficiency and profits, so he left his well paying job behind and became the exclusive distributor for the multimixer. By the end of the 1940s, he was making around $25,000 every year, almost $300,000 today. But then everything started to change. In the first few years of the 1950s, Americans started moving out of cities, opting for a quiet life in the growing suburbs. That meant the once popular neighborhood soda fountains were all but abandoned by their customers.

Eventually, many of them closed, which meant that Rays customer base shrank considerably. No one seemed to need to make several milkshakes at once anymore. And that's why it caught Rays attention when one business ordered eight multimixers this year. Even at the height of his success, that kind of order would have been eye catching. Now, though, with his fortune drying up, it merited closer inspection.

Maybe, Ray thought, there was an opportunity for him in San Bernardino, California. Pulling up to the hamburger drive up, Ray quickly understands why Mac and Dick McDonald needed eight multi mixers. There are customers lining up to place orders for burgers, fries, sodas, and plenty of milkshakes. Aside from the sheer number of customers the restaurant attracts, Ray is especially impressed with the efficiency of the operation. The menu is a streamlined list of nine items, which makes ordering a simple, rapid affair.

Likewise, the food itself is delivered in just seconds. The modern kitchen inside the octagonal building uses bespoke equipment to churn out hamburgers as fast as customers can order them. Its a well oiled machine, and looking at the restaurant, Ray thinks about how much money he could make if there were more just like it around the country, each with their own set of eight multimixers. So Ray approaches the brothers to suggest that they franchise McDonalds. But Mac and Dick already started that process, which meant that there were already eight more stores like the first on the west coast.

Theyd even hired an architect to create an eye catching concept for all their locations, each standing out with red and white tiles and bright yellow arches on either end of the buildings. But Mac and Dicks franchise agent had quit recently, and the brothers arent interested in putting in the effort to expand any further. But Ray Kroc is. Milkshake machines are one thing, but he can see that this is a golden opportunity. So he offers to take on the job himself.

By the following year, Rays purchased the rights to franchise locations across the country and opens his very first mcdonalds into plains, Illinois in April of 1955. But Mack and Dick neglect to tell Ray that theyve already sold the franchise rights in that area to someone else. So before he can open his shiny new restaurant, he has to fork out an extra $25,000 to buy the other guy out. This complication will signal the beginning of a rocky relationship between between Ray and the McDonnell brothers. The siblings will maintain a tight grip on their original concept and remain reluctant to allow Ray to make any changes of his own.

Despite this friction, over the next few years, Rays vision for mcdonalds will see the business grow from a California success story into a nationally recognized juggernaut. Then, in 1961, Ray will offer to buy the brothers out. They are both in their fifties by this stage and have easily surpassed their million dollar goal. So the brothers will sell the business to Ray for $2.7 million and walk away ready to put their feet up. But while the McDonnell brothers begin slowing down, Ray Kroc is just getting started.

History Daily is sponsored by indeed. Anyone know of someone who is an expert historical researcher, has the story sense of a screenwriter, but also can edit audio, compose music, and do sound design? That would be my perfect employee. Finding them would be tough, admittedly. Who would have that fantasy skillset?

If I believe that person was actually out there, I'd be searching for days, weeks, months. But when it comes to hiring, perhaps the best way to search for a candidate isn't to search at all. Yeah, don't search. Match with indeed. With over 350 million global monthly visitors, according to indeed data, their matching engine helps you find quality candidates fast.

And history daily listeners will get a $75 sponsored job credit to get your jobs more visibility@indeed.com. Onthisday just go to indeed.com onthisday right now and support the show by saying you heard about indeed on this podcast. Thats indeed.com onthisday. Terms and conditions apply. Need to hire you.

Need indeed. When youre ready to pop the question, the last thing you want to do is second guess the ring. At blue nile.com comma, you can design a one of a kind ring with the ease and convenience of shopping online. Choose your diamond and setting when you found the one, you'll get it delivered right to your door. Go to bluenile.com and use promo code audio to get $50 off your purchase of $500 or more.

C
That's code audiolownial.com for dollar 50 off your purchase. Bluenile.com code audio.

Lindsey Graham
Its 1962 and Ray Kroc is back in San Bernardino, California. But this time hes not here to visit the first mcdonalds location. Hes here to open a new one. He didnt know it at the time, but his deal to buy Mac and Dicks share of McDonalds didnt include the deed to their original location. So the brothers have retained ownership of the very first restaurant.

But incensed by this move, Ray has exercised his rights as sole owner of the company. Trademarks to force the brothers to rename their store and alter the buildings exterior. Theres only going to be one McDonalds in town and it will belong to Ray Kroc. In a move surely designed as a twist of the knife, he opens a new mcdonalds in San Bernardino, less than a block away from the brothers restaurant, which is now called the Big M. Over the next few years, as McDonalds grows rapidly in popularity, the two San Bernardino burger joints will battle it out.

But although theirs is the restaurant that started it all, Mac and Dicks store will eventually be forced to close in 1972. The building will be demolished the same year, erasing the physical evidence that ties that location to the birth of an empire. In the decades following the original restaurants closure, McDonalds will become a global behemoth. One that far outstrips any of its founders wildest dreams. The McDonnell brothers had grand plans to earn a million dollars.

Ray Kroc wanted 1000 stores across the US. But even those lofty goals proved minuscule compared to what will actually happen. Today, McDonalds is the leading food service retailer in the world. There are over 38,000 locations in more than 100 countries. And although there are ups and downs for the business, there's no telling where it will go from here.

Just like there was no way Dick and Matt McDonald could have known what they'd set in motion when they opened the first McDonald's restaurant on May 15, 1940.

Next on History daily May 16, 1975. Junko Taebay, a japanese mountaineer, author and teacher, becomes the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

From noiser and airship. This is history daily. Hosted, edited and executive produced by me, Lindsey Graham Audio Editing by Mohammad Shazib Sound Design by Molly Bach Music by Lindsey Graham this episode is written and researched by Joel Callan produced by Alexandra Curry Buckner. Executive producers are Stephen Walters for airship and Pascal Hughes for R.

D
Mindfulness, meditation, breath work more and more people are discovering self care practices. But what about this practice of stoicism? Maybe you've heard that word bouncing around, and I know you're thinking, stoicism, ancient philosophy? Who cares? Stoic philosophy is more relevant now than ever, and it's a really powerful tool for helping us with the daily anxieties and problems of modern life.

I'm Ryan Holiday, host of the daily Stoic podcast, where every day I share lessons on how to live a better life through the ancient philosophy of stoicism. A philosophy of kings and emperors as well as ordinary people alike in Greece and in Rome. Stoicism is a philosophy designed to make us more resilient, happier, more virtuous and wise. And like all important journeys, this is one that begins from where within. Follow the daily Stoic on the wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts.

You can listen to the daily Stoic early and ad free right now on wondery Plus.