People are intrigued with the speed and assembly-line efficiency by which meals are prepared in these restaurants, and this has kept them coming back. They like the way the fast food industry has always tried to serve food to its customers quickly, efficiently, and economically. A lot may have changed since the first fast food restaurants were started, but this basic principle has never changed.
The First Restaurants
The first settlers in America wanted quick, inexpensive meals, but there were few places to get them. Taverns were about the only spots where people could go to get a quick bite to eat, and free food was even served occasionally to those who purchased drinks.
Then came a great new invention that offered fast food service, the lunch wagon. These horse-drawn wagons sold sandwiches, slices of pie, and drinks round the clock in front of factories, parks, theatres, and other places where large crowds of people gathered. These wagons became larger and larger, and soon they became big enough for customers to step inside out of the wind and rain to order their food. In fact, some of these wagons even had places for customers to sit. It was not long until these wagons stopped traveling and parked in one spot.
Fast Food Pioneers
As soon as he arrived in the United States in 1850, Frederick Harvey entered the restaurant business. Granted, he only started as a dishwasher, but he worked hard and in nine years was co-owner of a restaurant in St. Louis. Unfortunately, Harvey's quick rise to success ended during the Civil War when his partner left town with all the money.
Harvey was forced to go into another line of work. In his new job, he traveled extensively on the railroad and observed that there was a lack of dining cars and eating facilities at the stations. He decided to go back into the food business and provide the tired, hungry railroad passengers with trackside restaurants where they would be able to eat meals quickly and in clean surroundings. Harvey opened his first restaurant in the depot at Topeka, Kansas, in 1876.
His idea was so successful that as the railroad went West, so did the Harvey House restaurants. Harvey even thought of a system that made it possible for the restaurants to begin cooking each customer's meal before the train had even stopped. Harvey knew the secret of providing customers with the fast service they wanted. His restaurant empire grew steadily, becoming a chain of restaurants and hotels in the western part of the United States.
Other people saw the need for new and faster ways to serve food. Not all of these people were successful in the restaurant business; however, many were. John T. Thompson opened his first lunchroom in Chicago in 1890 and within 28 years had over 100 lunchrooms. Just as successful was James A. Whitcomb, who opened his first Dairy Lunch in Baltimore in the 1880s and had over 100 Dairy Lunchrooms by 1921. Another fast food pioneer, Harry S. Kelsey, opened his first Waldorf Lunch-which was named after the famous Waldorf-Astoria-in 1904 and in less than 16 years had more than 70 Waldorf Lunch outlets serving people along the East-Coast.
Soda Fountains, Luncheonettes, and Coffee Shops
After the Civil War, drugstores changed. The change started when they began serving a new drink made out of sweet syrup and soda water. This drink became even more popular when someone thought of adding ice cream to it. Ice cream sodas became so well liked that most drugstores soon had soda fountains to serve them. Before long, soda fountains started adding sandwiches and other fast food items to their menus.
By the 1920s, many soda fountains had turned into luncheonettes. Coffee shops also started in the 1920s. People then had the choice of all these different places that served food faster than traditional restaurants. They could grab a sandwich as they passed a lunch wagon or sit on a stool and be served quickly at a soda fountain, luncheonette, or coffee shop. But even these restaurants did not satisfy the people's demand for fast food service, so cafeterias and other restaurants where people were willing to serve themselves emerged. These restaurants could feed a large number of people quickly and in limited space because the customer turnover was so rapid.
The next step in the development of the fast food restaurant concept was the automat. Joseph Horn and Frank Hardart had worked in lunchrooms before they opened their first automat in 1902 in Philadelphia. In 1912, they opened their first automat in New York. An automat featured a wall of compartments with glass doors. Inside each compartment was a prepared food item. Dropping the correct amount of coins into a slot would open the door. Unlike today's vending machines, it was possible to purchase a complete, cooked meal at an automat. Automats eliminated the long lines that occurred in cafeterias. Automats became very popular in Philadelphia and New York, but they never really caught on in other areas of the country.
The Number of Chains Keeps Growing
Fast food restaurants are here to stay. Although the mad growth rush is over, many chains are just getting started. Jim Teaters opened his first Spaghetti Shop in 1985 in Terre Haute, Indiana. His restaurant serves Italian food. It also serves Italian sandwiches, and you can even take home a half-gallon bucket of spaghetti with meat sauce. A special bucket has been designed so that the spaghetti is separated from the meat sauce, and both will stay warm as you drive home. The number of Spaghetti Shops is growing rapidly, and Teaters plans to have 100 restaurants by 1991.
For the person with the sweet tooth, there are also many different fast food dessert outlets like Mrs. Field's Cookies, Baskin-Robbins, and TCBY, a yogurt chain. There are now fast food outlets selling Chinese food, pretzels, and almost anything else people crave.
Fast food chains are all trying to bring customers into their outlets by offering more and more extras. Some restaurants are adding extra drive-thru windows, and some are even trying home delivery. Many restaurants are adding salad bars, reducing the amount of salt in their food, and frying with only vegetable oil to capture the health-conscious part of the market.
The Leading Fast Food Chains
Many different soldiers fought in World War II, and there have been many different fast food restaurants. Soldiers like Eisenhower, Churchill, and Mac Arthur are remembered; others who fought just as hard are forgotten. It is the same story with fast food restaurants. Some have prospered while others have opened their doors and then closed them quickly.
