Anyone who has not been living under the rock in the last few years knows about the McDonald’s. McDonald’s is one of the leading fast-food chains that have branches all over the world. The fast-food chain originally was founded in the United States of America. It is one of the biggest and ever-growing fast-food chains. That’s lead us to ask how long has McDonalds been in business?
One of the lingering questions for everyone who loves McDonald’s is, how long has McDonalds has been in business? It has been here for a very long time and will still continue to be in business as long as the French Fries & burgers are loved and liked by its loyal customers.
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McDonald’s is a fast food chain company that has branches around the world, in almost 100 countries! Isn’t that incredible? This means that this fast-food chain is situated in almost half of the world. There are only 190 countries in the world and McDonald’s has penetrated into 100 of them!
Whenever one knows the fact that McDonald’s has branches in 100 countries the first thought they have is, how long has McDonalds been in business to spread around the world. What did it do to attract millions of people to its outlet? It has got to be the hamburgers, of course! One of the major and most loved items of McDonald’s fast food chain is the hamburgers.
In the following paragraphs, let us get to know how long has McDonalds been in business to achieve this much success, how long has McDonald’s been in business under the management of Ray Kroc and a brief history of McDonald’s. The history of the fast food giant will help you appreciate the brand more than ever.
how long has McDonalds been in business
McDonald’s history
McDonald’s founders were two people, and they were the two brothers named Richard McDonald and Maurice McDonald. It is from the brothers’ family name that the fast food joint got its name, McDonald’s. The first McDonald’s outlet started in sunny California in a place called San Bernardino.
They started as a fast food restaurant and then became a hamburger stand before turning it into a franchise with the golden Arches logo. This franchise was introduced in the year 1953 in Phoenix, Arizona. In 1954, they had a visitor named Ray Kroc; this man was a multi-mixer salesman.
Ray Kroc was fascinated by the way the brothers were successfully carrying on the operations of the restaurant. To his luck, the McDonald brothers were looking for a franchise agent. That’s when Ray Kroc jumped in and took the opportunity. In 1955, he created McDonald’s System Inc.
This was the first-ever seed from where the giant grew. This proved to be the predecessor of the McDonald’s Corporation. The first McDonald’s is not in operation today, as it was damaged due to wear and tear through the years. The oldest McDonald’s outlet that is existing until now is the third ever unit that was started in Downey, California.
After creating McDonald’s System Inc., the restaurant saw an enormous improvement. Within the next six years, Ray Kroc’s bought exclusive rights to the McDonald’s name and operating system. The 100 millionth hamburger of McDonald’s was sold in the year 1958.
Now, that’s what you call a phenomenal success! People in those days must have wondered how long has McDonalds been in business to achieve so much success and much higher sales. Although Ray Kroc was the brain behind efficiently managing and running the big fast food chain, he is not the McDonald’s founder. Aren’t you as overwhelmed as us after reading this powerful but brief history of McDonald’s?
McDonald’s operation
One of the main areas of focus for Ray Kroc, with respects to McDonald’s, was to make it a restaurant that served the same quality and taste of food across all the restaurants operated by the chain. This was a tough challenge, indeed! This was because the taste of spices differs in different parts of the world. For a restaurant to be successful, it has to keep in mind the taste and preferences of the customers that buy food from them. However, Ray Kroc wasn’t bogged down by this challenge.
To make his ideas a reality, he made sure that all the branches followed uniform methods of preparing the food, thereby maintaining the high quality of the food in every single unit. Ray Kroc had a very unique way of thinking, which made him come up with the unique philosophy, “in business for yourself, but not by yourself”. He promoted this philosophy to his suppliers and franchisees to motivate them.
They all imbibed Kroc’s philosophy on a positive note. That is when the sales started to skyrocket immensely. The philosophy is based on a three-legged stool. For the stool to stand erect, it needs all the three legs. The metaphor here is that, the three legs of the stool dempte McDonald’s franchisees, McDonald’s suppliers and McDonald’s employees.
Ray Kroc was a man of rules and discipline. So, he made it compulsory for all the franchises of the restaurant chains to adhere to a system. The franchises came with their own menu items, but they had to follow the core McDonald’s principles of Quality, Service, Cleanliness and Value while preparing and serving the food.
Ray Kroc was so involved in the operation of McDonald’s that he worked tirelessly and brought new ideas to enhance the business. In 1961, he even launched a training program called Hamburger University. In this program, franchisees were trained to be able to successfully run a McDonald’s.
The Hamburger University, with the help of a laboratory in Addison, Illinois, created new techniques to cook, serve, freeze and store foods. Currently, there are as many as 2,75,000 people, who have graduated from this Hamburger University program. All these initiatives make everyone wonder how long has McDonalds been in business for them to make separate programs for employees.
Conclusion:
The answer to the ever lingering question “how long has McDonalds been in business?” is from the year it started till now. It has been a long journey, though. In those days, there weren’t even crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter. So, there was no way that Kroc would have known how does kickstarter make money or how to use the site to generate funds for his business. Hence, his success deserves a lot of praise, as it purely stemmed for his passion tor his business.
Frequently Asked Questions:
How much is a smoothie at McDonald’s?
The price of a smoothie at McDonald’s varies depending on the location and the size of the smoothie. Generally, a small smoothie costs around $2.49, a medium smoothie costs around $3.39, and a large smoothie costs around $4.39, but prices may vary by region.
Does McDonald’s take cash app?
McDonald’s accepts various payment methods, including cash, credit cards, and debit cards. However, whether they accept Cash App or any other mobile payment app may vary depending on the location. It’s best to check with your local McDonald’s or contact their customer service for more information.
Hello, my name is Idammah, and I am the founder of Wolfionaire.com, a personal development, and finance blog focused on motivation, success, and wealth. I am obsessed with studying the world's wealthiest individuals and learning about their path to success. I believe anyone can achieve their financial goals with the right mindset and strategies, and I hope to inspire and empower my readers to pursue their own path to success.
