History of Fast Food Essay Example for Free

History of ready Food EssayFast diet has been a growing phenomenon for since its ingress in twentieth century. The changes in American culture pushed the degenerate feed exertion into a staggering growth arena and have changed the way consumers purchase and eat forever. The fast- food for thought diligence that now ext finales throughout the world has its roots in the United States. Fast-food eaterys are often regarded as emblematic of a new global culture, but the industry has indisputably been shaped by its American origins. (Leidner 8).Fast Food has developed from being a convenience to a necessity, widened the financial gap and became an international phenomenon. The first do it restaurant, Royce Haileys betrayer Stand in D all(prenominal)as, Texas, was opened in 1921, and offered pul conduct pork BBQ and introduced Texas Toast. As one southern fan of Royce Haileys pig stand put it folk music went hog wild when the first Pig Stand opened in Dallas in 1921. Agile car hops leaped onto running boards of Model-Ts to deliver curb attend to to a generation on the go.It was the age of the machine, and Pig Stands multiplied across America faster than you can say soooo-eeee. It took the Great Depression of the 30s to slow The Pig down. (Sowa). Drive-in services were not very popular at this time because automobiles were expensive and few and far mingled with during the Great Depression. Then nearly common chord decades later the drive-in restaurant venerateed a degree of success during the 1950s. Drive-ins celebrated the cultural importance of the automobile and Drive-in restaurants proved (to be the) most popular, places where carhops served customers right away in their parked automobiles (Young, and Young 29).This convenience which enabled people to order their food and eat it in the open air without having to unbuckle their seatbelts changed American fast food forever (Woloson). Car hops, as they were also called, became familiar congregat ion centers for teenagers as healthy (Woloson). The rise of the fast food restaurant would not have been practicable without constant changes in American culture. The 1950s brought about American lifestyle changes. With the end of the war Americans had saved money and moved to the suburbs.For the first time in history middle class married women with women with children were entering the work force. Married women comprised the majority of the growth in the female work force throughout the 1950s, and between 1940 and 1960 there was a 400 percent increase in the number of working m new(prenominal)s by 1960, women with children under the age of eighteen accounted for nearly one-third of all women workers(Coontz 161). The working women and the decrease of free time may be a direct contributor to the growth of the fast food industry.The development of an affordable automobile and the simultaneous governmental support of new road systems physically reinforced this cultural melding, enabl ing car owners, especially, to go to places they had never been before. There was a holler in the tourist industry in the 1950s and 1960s. The key to the expansion of tourism demand was the rise in disposable incomes in the 1950s and 1960s. (Beauregard 225). Travelers, who erst went by rail, boat, or horse, were now moving faster by car. Consumers began to value things such as speed and convenience as part of their trips.Fast food restaurants began making their food faster and faster and Americans love the convenience of letting any(prenominal)one else do the cooking, especially when they are vacationing (Bijlefeld, and Zoumbaris 51). As travelers not scarce did they need affordable and reliable places to stay they needed quick, convenient, and inexpensive eateries. The need for fast, reliable, affordable, and convenient food, along with an increasing acceptance among Americans of more(prenominal) fast pace culture, led to the rise of the fast food industry.Fast food restauran ts sprang up in both urban areas and along the nations proudways in record numbers after the introduction of the fast food phenomenon known as McDonalds. The first fast food restaurant (was) opened by the two McDonald brothers in 1937 in Pasadena, California. Their established restaurant had experienced high demand at specific times (for example, workers lunchtimes) and they responded with a circumscribed menu (burgers) and were able to serve large numbers at high speed and low price.The assembly line procedures, with food preparation and serving made into simple repetitive tasks, combined with a specialized division of intentness for each stage, have been recognized as constituting the first fast food factory (Beardsworth, and Keil 120). This enabled people to get their food faster and set the standards for the future of the fast food industry. As the McDonalds chain grew and other chains started to sprout up people began to accept the new culture of food service. The working-cla ss food held generally in disrepute.The gaining widespread popularity of fast food made it a staple food in diets of many Americans diets. The most successful of these stands quickly multiplied, taking reward of the growing popularity of this new fast food and applied industrial principles of normalisation to its development. McDonalds is considered the first fast food restaurant and recognized the potential of this relatively fast and simple food. The organization of McDonalds created standardized methods in its production.The history of exsanguine castle dates back to the 1920s is seen as the first and most influential restaurant chain (White Castle). White Castle is credited for beginning the franchise system that inspired many (Woloson). White Castle set standards, began standardization of the cooking line, and created the first restaurant which duplicated the original. In retrospect it can be said that White Castle was the start and set high standards for all the other fra nchise restaurants in the United States. The hamburger fulfilled economic as well as cultural needs for inexpensive food.Although there was not a food shortage during the great depression food was expensive and affordable food options like the local hamburger stand was a blessing. By the end of 1930, White Castle had sold over 21 million hamburgers and then by the end of 1937, this number had increased to over 40 million (Woloson). Fast food began to make a steady incline towards the end of World War II. Franchises were not unique to the 1950s they had been around since the early decades of the twentieth century, patronize by a public increasingly used to and insistent upon the supposed reliability and trustworthiness of branded goods(Woloson).White Castle, A W Root beer, and Howard Johnsons, were or so of the first and most successful restaurant franchises. Although it took the ideals of postwar culture to wholly support the fast-food franchise it laid the foundations for the co mpanies to make billions of dollars. In 1955 Ray A. Kroc, a simoleons Milkshake salesman, discovered the McDonalds restaurant in California and saw a goldmine. He partnered with the McDonalds brothers, opening 228 franchises by 1960. Kroc happily bought out the McDonalds shares of the smart set in 1961.Kroc, an incredible entrepreneur, wanted to make the customers to identify with the restaurant and make it seem homey. By 1988, McDonalds had opened its ten thousandth restaurant and now there are over 30,000 McDonalds restaurants worldwide (History of Franchising). Krocs success lay in his approach not specifically to cooking individual food items, but in conceiving of his franchise operation in its entirety (Woloson). The methods and success of McDonalds Franchises have set a tone for the fast food industry.Although White Castle was the first restaurant that encouraged carry-out for those customers on the go the restraint developed standard floor plans and architectural designs t hat could be easily duplicated and set these standards for others in the industry (Woloson). McDonalds uniform restaurants, kitchens, dining rooms, and methods of standardized cooking techniques set this great restaurant apart and distinguish it from the other fast food restaurants. Ray Kroc had some competition with the introduction of popular fast food restaurants such as Taco Bell, Wendys, and Burger King. ane may say ethnic food could be considered a genre for the fast food franchise system, Taco Bell originated in 1962 and was the first ethnic franchise restaurant, paving the way for many more. Wendys, specializing in bigger, better, and more expensive hamburgers and introduced the first drive-thru windows at their restaurants, which were so popular that Burger King and McDonalds had to follow suit(Woloson). As an industry fast food will continue to grow, change, and fit to the needs of the culture around it.Expanding to international markets the fast food industry offers cult ural acceptable products. Multinational fast-food chains have now become family names, and in terms of sales and units tend to dominate national markets. Indeed, the industry is becoming more internationalized with brands like Burger King being bought by the British multinational Diageo and McDonalds has recently bought a stake in Pret a Manger. However, some of the largest brands in this sector are still American-owned, such as McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut, and Wimpy(Royle and Towers 3).One great concept is international fast food chains often support the local economy, buying local products, but sticking to the same well known recipes to get desired results. The fast food franchise of the 20th century has set and defined a world-renowned concept of the way people order, eat, and enjoy the food that they purchase. The fast food industry is one of enormous power and economic strength. Fast food restaurants represent Americas cultures and, in many ways, how other cultures puree to be like America.