McDonald’s is about to report earnings

McDonald’s, in full McDonald’s Corporation, American fast-food chain that is one of the largest in the world, known for its hamburgers, french fries, and especially Big Macs. It is one of the most successful brands in marketing history. Company headquarters are in Chicago.

The first McDonald’s restaurant was opened in 1940 by brothers Maurice (“Mac”) and Richard McDonald in San Bernardino, California. It originally was a drive-in that offered a wide selection of items. However, in 1948 the brothers decided to revamp the business, and after a three-month renovation, a newly envisioned McDonald’s opened. The small restaurant was designed to produce huge quantities of food at low prices. To achieve this, the brothers limited the menu—which only featured hamburgers, potato chips (later replaced by french fries), drinks, and pie—and developed a simple, efficient format that they named the Speedee Service System. This included a self-service counter that eliminated the need for waiters and waitresses, and customers received their food quickly because hamburgers were cooked ahead of time, wrapped, and warmed under heat lamps. These innovations allowed the brothers to charge just 15 cents for a basic hamburger, about half the price of competing restaurants. McDonald’s was a huge success, and the brothers began a franchise program.

Appliances for McDonald’s were purchased from a salesman named Ray Kroc, who was intrigued by their need for eight malt and shake mixers. In 1954 he visited the restaurant to see how a small shop could sell so many milk shakes. Realizing there was great promise in their restaurant concept, Kroc became a franchise agent for the brothers. In April 1955 Kroc launched McDonald’s Systems, Inc., later known as McDonald’s Corporation, in Des Plaines, Illinois, and there he also opened the first McDonald’s franchise east of the Mississippi River. In 1961 Kroc bought out the McDonald brothers.