Your favorite fast-food joints came from humble beginnings. Here's how the earliest fast-food restaurants got their start and sparked a global takeover.
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McDonald’s
Dick and Mac McDonald opened the first McDonald’s ever in San Bernardino, California, in 1940. Located on Fourteenth and E streets, the first fast-food restaurant McDonald’s set up was a drive-in with an extensive menu. While that location closed decades ago, it’s now home to a museum honoring those first Golden Arches.
If you’re taking a tour of the earliest fast-food restaurants, don’t skip the McDonald’s No. 1 Store Museum in Des Plaines, Illinois. Its tagline, The Original McDonald’s, is a bit of a misnomer—it’s just a replica, and of the ninth restaurant, not the first. But it’s the first restaurant Ray Kroc opened for the McDonald’s brothers, and it marked the beginning of what would become a global chain.
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Burger King
Before there was Burger King, there was Insta-Burger King—the earliest fast-food restaurant of the chain—which opened in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1953. According to a Yahoo Finance report, the name was built around a gadget called the Insta-Broiler, which the food giant used to cook patties quickly.
Just a year later, Insta-Burger King saw a change in leadership. James McLamore and David Edgerton took over the struggling shop, reimagined the brand and launched it nationwide as Burger King, according to Business Insider. While the chain might not have reached McDonald’s status, it certainly locked itself down as a competitor.
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Starbucks
Starbucks’ first location will have a familiar ring to any coffee lover: Pike Place Market, the namesake of its famous coffee blend. Opening its doors and serving coffee for the first time on March 30, 1971, the cafe spent seven years at this spot in Seattle before moving to a new spot in 1977. But that “new” spot still pays homage to its roots. Like other chains, Starbucks has tweaked its branding over the years, but at Pike Place, you can still spot its original brown logo.
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KFC
Ironically, KFC didn’t get its start in Kentucky. It first opened its doors in Salt Lake City in 1952, under the name Kentucky Fried Chicken. Col. Harland Sanders (yes, he’s real) was passing through and dropped in on the Harman Cafe’s owner, whom he’d met at a restaurant convention the year before. The Kentucky-based colonel asked to put his chicken recipe on the Harman menu, and the owner agreed. The restaurant’s Kentucky-fried chicken was a hit, and it remains finger-lickin’ good today.
Want to check out the original spot? While the original building was torn down, the location still has a Harman Cafe sign and keeps memorabilia inside.
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Pizza Hut
The original Pizza Hut wasn’t exactly a hut, but it was certainly no mansion. In 1958, founders (and brothers) Dan and Frank Carney were students at Wichita State University. When a local landlady suggested they turn the beer joint on her property into a pizza shop, the Carneys took her up on the offer. And that’s how Pizza Hut’s first fast-food restaurant began. The rest is (saucy, cheesy) history.
According to Pizza Hut’s official website, the Carney brothers’ sign for the 500-square-foot brick building had room for only eight letters, and five of those had to be p-i-z-z-a. So they went with hut. After the brothers outgrew that tiny kitchen, the building was moved to the WSU campus, where it’s now been converted to a Pizza Hut museum.
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Dunkin’
Back in 1948, Bill Rosenberg opened a little spot called Open Kettle, serving up hot coffee and fresh doughnuts that quickly won over locals. Cut to 1950, when the Massachusetts doughnut shop changed its name to Dunkin’ Donuts—and started a revolution. Back then, you’d put a dime down for a cup of coffee and get only two choices: regular or decaf. Today, you can choose from several coffee drinks, dozens of doughnuts and even non-sweet bites. Another big change: The company ditched the “Donuts” in its name and now goes by just Dunkin’.
Want to dunk your doughnuts at the classic shop? Head to Quincy, Massachusetts. There, the original location got a makeover in 2011, taking it back to its retro roots. From the scripted sign to the counterside stools, its decor will take you back in time.
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Tim Hortons
You’ve got to admit, the Tim Hortons history is pretty legendary. In 1964, former NHL player Tom Horton decided to open a doughnut shop in Canada, selling pastries and coffee for just 10 cents each. The company grew into a chain synonymous with Canadian coffee. The original building in Hamilton, Ontario, was torn down, but you can hit up the new restaurant for your coffee fix while browsing the onsite museum. And get this: The corner on Ottawa Street where it sits is nicknamed Tim Hortons Way.
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Bojangles
Back in 1977, Richard Thomas and Jack Fulk—two fast-food pros with KFC and Hardee’s franchises of their own—teamed up in Charlotte, North Carolina. The result? The very first Bojangles, a humble spot on the West Boulevard. The location closed briefly for renovations in 2023, but the original location is still open and serving up classic fried chicken and biscuits. Even the New Yorker hopped on the Bojangles train, writing in 1982 about how the “biscuits are going to take the north by storm.” After 48 years in business, it’s safe to say the zesty fried chicken and made-from-scratch biscuits are a hit.
FAQs
What was the first fast food restaurant?
The first fast-food restaurant in America was White Castle, which opened in Wichita, Kansas, in 1921. According to the company, founders Billy Ingram and Walt Anderson set out to win over wary customers by designing spotless, all-white restaurants where you could see your burger being made. That simple idea didn’t just sell sliders—it set the stage for the earliest fast-food restaurants that would go on to shape American dining.
What was the first fast food restaurant with a drive-thru?
Contrary to what many people think, McDonald’s wasn’t the first to roll out a drive-thru. In fact, the very first drive-thru restaurant didn’t come from a big-name chain at all. In 1947, Red’s Giant Hamburg in Springfield, Missouri, made history by installing a window where customers could order and grab their burgers without ever leaving the car, according to Food Republic. That simple twist on convenience paved the way for the drive-thru culture we know today.
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Sources:
- McDonald’s: “McDonald’s History”
- Yahoo! Finance: “How Burger King Went From “Insta-Burger King” to Fast-Food Royalty”
- Business Insider: “Photos Show How Burger King Has Changed Since 1954”
- The Guardian: “The first Starbucks coffee shop, Seattle – a history of cities in 50 buildings, day 36”
- Atlas Obscura: “Site of the World’s First KFC”
- Pizza Hut: “Our Story”
- The Boston Globe: “Original Dunkin’ Donuts in Quincy goes retro”
- CBC: “Tim Hortons opens transformed Ottawa Street museum”
- Bojangles: “Our Southern-Style Chicken Story”
- The New Yorker: “Bojangles”
- White Castle: “White Castle Celebrates 95 Crave-Filled Years”
- Food Republic: “We Can Thank This Historic Fast Food Joint For Inventing The Drive-Thru”
