Des Plaines, Chicago, April 15, 1955
A fast-food outlet in suburban Chicago is doing a remarkable trade and celebrated its second anniversary today. The outlook of owner/manager Ray Kroc is reflected in his objection to a local reporter’s usage of the term “hamburger- joint.” It is, he says, a family restaurant.
It is evident from the immaculate grounds, neatly and uniformly dressed staff, hygienic kitchen, rapid service, small standardized menu (focusing on hamburgers), low prices, consistent standards, and no-tipping policy, that Kroc’s intention is to appeal to busy young suburban families. These pressed-for-time families he suggests, are seeking a reliable cheap meal that will appeal to children, and a friendly, polite, and safe environment.
Kroc first made a name for himself
after the war selling contraptions that allowed busy drugstore owners to mix five milkshakes at a time. When sales began to fall, he recognized that neighborhood drugstores were in decline.
However, one hamburger outlet in California,
which was called McDonald’s, had bought 10 of his “multimixers.” Curious, he investigated and was impressed by the business’s cleanliness and orderliness, the systematic method, family-friendly atmosphere (“no leather-jacketed guys, jukeboxes or cigarette machines,” Kroc says), and remarkable popularity. He convinced the McDonald brothers to make him their franchising agent and soon opened his own McDonalds.
Kroc militantly protects the company’s reputation by very carefully considering all potential franchisees and locations, and strictly imposing set menus, prices, standards, and methods on all takers.
Twelve McDonald’s
were opened around the country last year but Kroc envisages hundreds more. With his fierce drive, determination, and competitiveness, he seems sure to succeed.
TODAY, MCDONALD’S IS IN 120 COUNTRIES WITH 37,855 RESTAURANTS, EMPLOYING 250,000 PEOPLE!!
