Some eight decades ago, the McDonald brothers opened their restaurant with a very different vision than what it would eventually become. As times changed, the McDonald’s menu changed with items appearing and disappearing. Here’s what McDonald’s menu looked like the year you were born.
Brothers Maurice and Richard McDonald opened the first McDonald’s on the corner of 14th and North E Streets in San Bernardino, California, on May 15, 1940. But this restaurant looked nothing like the ones we’ve come to know today. It had no indoor seating and only a few stools at an outside counter. Most customers would just pull their cars into the parking lot and have their food served to them by carhops.
But the most notable difference between that first McDonald’s and what the chain would eventually become was its early focus on barbecue. The brothers would slow-cook meat for hours in a barbecue pit filled with hickory chips that they imported all the way from Arkansas. The barbecue stand quickly gained popularity, with annual sales topping $200,000.
Rod Washington: Rod is a blogger, writer, filmmaker, photographer, daydreamer who likes to cook. Rod produces and directs the web series, CUPIC: Diary of an Investigator. He also produces news and documentary video projects. Check out his podcast StoriesThisMoment at https://m3e.d71.myftpupload.com/stm-tncn-podcasts/
