Fast food has to change as quickly as the times to remain relevant. The drive-thru windows and super-sized meals of yesterday have to yield to the self-service kiosks and lighter, snackier diets of today even if fast-food restaurants just want to survive.
We’ve taken a look at fast-food chains throughout the years and have seen some big changes in not only how they look, but what they serve.
MCDONALD’S THEN
Ray Kroc bought the original McDonald’s from the McDonald brothers after visiting in 1954 and founded McDonald’s as we know it in 1955. The San Bernardino, California, location sold burgers for 15 cents and had the iconic golden arches that yielded the McDonald’s logo.
MCDONALD’S NOW
McDonald’s is undergoing a $6 billion overhaul of its 14,000 U.S. restaurants with new furniture and décor, updated exteriors, table service, and digital kiosks for ordering, customizing, and paying for meals. The menu boards in the restaurants and drive-thru lanes are going digital, and customers using a mobile app get their own parking spots.
BURGER KING THEN
Founded as Insta-Burger King in 1953 in Jacksonville, Florida, and built around flame-broiling devices — known as Insta-Broilers — it became simply Burger King when two Miami franchisees took over the company in 1959.
BURGER KING NOW
Most Burger King locations went through costly renovations when 3G capital bought the company in 2010. But it’s still looking to modernize and is adding interactive ordering and payment kiosks here and abroad.
SUBWAY THEN
Roughly 53 years ago in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Peter Buck (not the guy from R.E.M.) lent Fred DeLuca the money to start Pete’s Subway. It was a sub shop like any other, making made-to-order sandwiches, but a little ambition pushed the chain to 16 locations by 1974, when Subway started franchising.
SUBWAY NOW
There are more than 40,000 subway locations around the world, but times have been hard on the chain. Hundreds of stores have closed in recent years as the company looks overseas instead, and those that remain are getting their first redesign in 20 years, ditching the brick-and-subway-car pattern in favor of brighter colors, sleeker furniture and better lighting.
WENDY’S THEN
Wendy’s founder Dave Thomas worked in restaurants and with Kentucky Fried Chicken magnate Harland Sanders until he was able to open his first shop in Columbus, Ohio, in 1969. He pressed the square patties by hand, introduced chili as a menu item, and introduced the pickup window in 1971.
WENDY’S NOW
The brand underwent an overhaul in 2012, with a revised logo in 2013. There are now more than 6,500 locations, and CEO Todd Penegor sees a future in not just kiosks, but in an expedited drive-thru and mobile ordering process. Wendy’s has also developed perhaps the most notorious fast-food identity on social media, courtesy of its Twitter handle.
TACO BELL THEN
Glen Bell’s first idea wasn’t a taco. He opened a hot dog stand called Bell’s Drive-In in San Bernardino, California, in 1948, but watched customers line up for a Mexican restaurant called the Mitla Cafe and its hard-shelled tacos across the street. Bell shadily got the recipe from the Mitla and opened Taco-Tia in late 1951 or early 1952. The first Taco Bell opened in Downey, California, in 1962.
TACO BELL NOW
Taco Bell has more than 7,000 locations, where it’s been trying out new designs since 2016. The layouts are also getting self-order kiosks by the end of 2019.
KFC THEN
Kentucky Fried Chicken didn’t start in Kentucky. Sure, Harland Sanders had a restaurant there, but if he hadn’t met Leon “Pete” Harman in Salt Lake City and convinced him to serve his fried chicken and its 11 herbs and spices, there would be no KFC. That’s right, the first Kentucky Fried Chicken — and its museum — is in Salt Lake City.
KFC NOW
KFC has more than 20,000-plus locations worldwide and is absolutely enormous in China. It has extreme differences around the globe — from menu items to marketing approaches — though the basic recipe remains the same. In 2016, KFC began extensive remodeling on its U.S. locations — and While Colonel Sanders was persona non grata here for many years, he’s now the oft-seen face of the spruced-up franchise.
WHITE CASTLE THEN
Founded in Wichita, Kansas, back in 1921, White Castle sold its thin, onion-topped sliders for 5 cents and standardized the process enough to open locations quickly and inexpensively. Combined with prefabricated White Castle buildings and a squeaky clean reputation — important when the public isn’t all that happy about recent beef contamination — it was able to become the world’s first burger chain.
WHITE CASTLE NOW
With more than 400 stores and an infamous on-screen visit from Harold and Kumar in 2004, White Castle has found its groove. When it opened in Las Vegas in 2015, it had long lines and had to close to restock. It also offers anything on its menu at any time and has embraced touchscreen ordering and payment.
HARDEE’S THEN
Wilber Hardee first opened shop in Greenville, North Carolina, in 1960. Though there would be 200 Hardee’s by the end of the 1960s, and people would come to love it for its biscuits, don’t credit the founder, who lost his controlling shares in a game of poker. His partners were responsible for much of the expansion.
HARDEE’S NOW
Even some Hardee’s fans don’t recognize the place now. In 2003, Hardee’s pared down its menu and focused on the three sizes of Thickburger. This year, Hardee’s also went through a major rebrand that saw parent company CKE attempt to distance it from stablemate Carl’s Jr. by giving it a more down-home design.
STARBUCKS THEN
Opened in Seattle in 1971, Starbucks started as a coffee roaster after founders Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gordon Bowker saw Alfred Peet succeed with Peet’s in San Francisco.
Taking the name from the chief mate in Melville’s “Moby-Dick,” the partners opened on Western Avenue from 1971-1976 before relocating to 1912 Pike Place. The only brewed coffee served in the store were free samples, though future Starbucks owner Howard Schultz would make espressos and lattes with Starbucks beans at his Il Giornale coffee shop.
STARBUCKS NOW
Starbucks’ identity is all about coffee in its more than 28,000 locations, which are continually redesigned for aesthetic and practical purposes. Customers have embraced ordering through Starbucks’ mobile app, so stores now have to reflect a consumer who may not need to stare up at its far broader menus or even go to a cashier. There are plans for 10,000 “greener” stores by 2025, which means more changes ahead.
DUNKIN’ DONUTS THEN
In 1948, Bill Rosenberg opened his Open Kettle in Quincy, Massachusetts, serving premium coffee and doughnuts. When business was slow, he asked a few executives if maybe he should rename the place. He turned to Dunkin’ Donuts since, at the time, you dunked very dry doughnuts into coffee. Within a decade, there were 100 locations.
DUNKIN’ DONUTS NOW
This year, Dunkin’ Donuts announced that it’s kicking “Donuts” out of the name, putting in exclusive mobile drive-thru lanes, adding self-serve kiosks, putting cold drinks on tap, and expanding grab-and-go to include items that aren’t pastry. There are now 12,000 stores worldwide, but it remains to be seen if they’ll all look the same.
PIZZA HUT THEN
Wichita State University students Dan and Frank Carney started their first Pizza Hut in Wichita in 1958, and a first franchise location opened in 1960. The actual “hut,” the red-roof structures that often had pitchers of beer, a stocked salad bar, a jukebox and arcade games, didn’t show up until 1969.
PIZZA HUT NOW
There are now more than 16,000 locations worldwide, but fewer than 3,000 of the traditional “red roof” locations still exist. Today, Pizza Hut focuses most new business on smaller locations, pickup and takeout, and combination locations with Taco Bell, KFC, or WingStreet. Parent company Yum Brands is pouring $130 million into Pizza Hut to improve customer experience and enhance technology such as ordering kiosks and mobile apps.
DAIRY QUEEN THEN
Though John Fremont “J.F.” “Grandpa” McCullough and his son Alex first convinced Sherb Noble to offer their soft serve in his ice cream store in Kankakee, Illinois, in 1938, the trio didn’t open the first Dairy Queen location until 1940 in Joliet. The site of the first operation remains, but much has changed since.
DAIRY QUEEN NOW
Billionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway bought Dairy Queen in 1998 and has expanded it to 6,800 locations around the world. Now paired with mall staple Orange Julius, Dairy Queen’s offerings and even hours still vary by location. Some are seasonal, while others have expanded into full restaurant operations.
ARBY’S THEN
First opened in Boardman, Oregon, in 1964, Arby’s is actually named after the initials of founders Leroy and Forrest Raffel’s restaurant equipment company, Raffel Brothers. The name they wanted for their roast beef chain, Big Tex, was taken.
ARBY’S NOW
With more than 3,300 locations worldwide, Arby’s has seen some hard times. Owners have included Royal Crown Cola, Triarc, and Roark Capital. Now the independent flagship of the Arby’s-owned Inspire Group, Arby’s bought Buffalo Wild Wings. Though a revamp five years ago didn’t really take, a bunch of new ads, sandwiches, and technology are moving this chain forward.
JACK IN THE BOX THEN
San Diego businessman Robert O. Peterson opened the first Jack in the Box location in 1951, complete with intercom system, a drive-thru window, 18-cent burgers — and a rooftop clown. It spread through California, Arizona, and Texas in its early years.
JACK IN THE BOX NOW
A deadly E. coli outbreak in 1993 led to 171 hospitalizations and four deaths in four states, but the chain slowly won back customers and now has more than 2,200 locations in 21 states. While it considers ordering and payment kiosks and mobile-enhanced drive-thrus, the chain is also continuing its push toward younger, hungrier crowds.
POPEYES LOUISIANA KITCHEN THEN
Alvin Copeland didn’t name his New Orleans-area restaurant after a cartoon character in 1972, but after “The French Connection” protagonist Popeye Doyle. Though its famous biscuits wouldn’t be on the menu until 1983, Popeyes was already on its way to becoming a national chicken institution.
POPEYES LOUISIANA KITCHEN NOW
In 2008, Popeyes rebranded into its current “Louisiana Kitchen” format and has since expanded to more than 2,700 locations. But it was last year’s takeover by Burger King and Tim Hortons owner Restaurant Brands for $1.8 billion that will have the biggest impact on Popeyes. The company has appointed a tech czar to oversee its continued foray into mobile apps and ordering kiosks.