2. Restaurants have been
around in some form for
most of human
civilization. But they
usually catered to
travelers. As far back as
ancient Greece and
Rome, taverns generally
served food to people
who had a reason to be
away from home.
3. This trend continued until relatively recently.
Although taverns and coffee houses were
popular places to share beverages in the 17th
century, the idea of eating out for fun didn't
take off in Western society until the late 18th
century.
4. Although McDonald's was the
first restaurant to use the
assembly-line system, some
people think of White Castle as
the first fast-food chain. White
Castle was founded in 1921 in
Wichita, Kansas. At the time, most
people considered the burgers
sold at fairs, circuses, lunch
counters and carts to be lowquality. Many people thought
hamburger came from
slaughterhouse scraps and spoiled
meat.
5. White Castle's founders decided to change the public's
sense of hamburgers. They built their restaurants so
that customers could see the food being prepared.
They painted the buildings white and even chose a
name that suggested cleanliness. ββWhite Castleββ was
most popular in the American East and Midwest. So
ββWhite Castleββ played an important part in the
development of fast food.
6.
7. The McDonald brothers
opened their redesigned
restaurant in 1948, and several
fast-food chains that exist today
opened soon after. Burger King
and Taco Bell got their start in
the 1950s. Some chains, like
Carl's Jr., KFC and Jack in the
Box, existed before the
Speedee Service System, but
modified their cooking
techniques after its debut.
McDonald's is now the world's
largest fast-food chain.
