A bite-sized history of fast food

The existence of ready-made food has been around for centuries, from ancient Rome’s takeout restaurants, known as thermopolia, to the bread, soup, and meat vendors that have populated the streets of metropolitan centers around the world since antiquity. However, the burgers, fries, wings, and milkshakes that constitute the typical fast-food meal today are a more recent invention — and a distinctly American one. Here's a brief taste of how a colossal global industry took flight.

The rise of automats

A direct predecessor of modern fast-food service were the automats that fed urbanites in the northeastern U.S. in the early 20th century. Essentially a self-service cafeteria, the automat featured rows of windowed compartments along its walls, from which hungry customers could retrieve an array of prepared dishes by depositing a coin. Introduced in Berlin, Germany, in 1895, this new form of casual dining made its way to Philadelphia in 1902 courtesy of restaurateurs Joe Horn and Frank Hardart.

The concept hit its stride after Horn and Hardart debuted their service in the busy New York City neighborhood of Times Square in 1912, and then expanded to more than 80 locations across the Big Apple and Philly. However, the popularity of the automat began to decline as city dwellers increasingly migrated to the suburbs after World War II, and the service slowly fizzled out over the following decades (though it saw a comeback amid the COVID-19 pandemic).

White Castle introduces the hamburger chain

As described in Adam Chandler's book Drive-Thru Dreams, a cook named Walt Anderson began churning out batches of small, square hamburgers from his stand in Wichita, Kansas, in 1916. Although Americans were leery of ground beef following the exposé of the meatpacking industry that featured in Upton Sinclair's 1906 novel The Jungle, Anderson eased those concerns by preparing his food in public view. Locals quickly took to the compact 5-cent burgers, later known as "sliders," and Anderson soon opened two more stands. In 1921, he teamed with real-estate broker Billy Ingram to open a fourth location in a building that resembled a small castle, a look that partly inspired the new eatery's moniker, "White Castle."

As burger stands began popping up with increasing frequency throughout the decade, Anderson and Ingram sought to distinguish their chain through the comfort of uniformity. Regardless of location, diners enjoyed burgers and coffee that were prepared in accordance to exact instructions, amid interior dining areas marked by white-painted walls, stainless steel counters, and identically dressed servers.

Drive-ins and Drive-thrus

At the same time that Kansans were familiarizing themselves with the White Castle brand, Texans were being introduced to a new form of dining service. Visitors hankering for a pork sandwich or other barbecue fare from the Dallas-based Pig Stand didn't even have to leave their vehicles, as they were greeted by smiling carhops who were ready to order and retrieve meals for them. As mentioned in Drive-Thru Dreams, considering the number of cars on American roads grew from 9 million in 1920 to 23 million in 1931, it was only natural that drive-in restaurants became a staple across the American landscape in the following decades.

The next phase in driver-oriented dining came with the emergence of the drive-thru restaurant in the late 1940s. Although it's unclear exactly where this service first originated, credit is often given to Red's Giant Hamburg on Route 66 in Springfield, Missouri, in 1948. That year also brought the drive-thru to Southern California with the very first In-N-Out Burger, which began expanding to other regional locations in the 1950s.

McD’s is a game changer

Meanwhile, another change in the industry was underway. Richard and Maurice McDonald built a successful burger drive-in restaurant in San Bernardino, California, in 1940, but eventually sought enhanced efficiency for their business. By 1948, the brothers had gotten rid of carhops and short-order cooks, divided food preparation into individual stations, simplified their menu, and replaced dishes and glassware with disposable versions. This "Speedee Service System," as it was called, enabled the brothers to rake in even larger profits, and directly inspired competitors such as Keith G. Cramer, who opened the chain that became Burger King in 1953.

Around that time, the development of the Interstate Highway System and migration to the suburbs that hastened the demise of automats also ignited a fast-food boom that was no longer primarily centered on hamburgers. Colonel Harland Sanders, who began experimenting with a pressure cooker at his gas station eatery in the 1930s, started franchising his Kentucky Fried Chicken recipe to restaurants in 1952. Brothers Dan and Frank Carney introduced the first Pizza Hut in Wichita in 1958. Glen Bell switched from burgers to tacos in 1954, before launching Taco Bell in Downey, California, in 1962. And 17-year-old Fred DeLuca teamed up with nuclear physicist Peter Buck to open the sandwich chain that became Subway in Bridgeport, Connecticut, in 1965.

With so many options for consumers to choose from, fast-food entrepreneurs sought to expand their businesses both nationally and overseas. Early pioneers in the international space included KFC, which brought the colonel's secret recipe to Canadain 1955 and Mexico in 1963, and A&W, which cracked the Asian market with shops in Malaysia and Japan in 1963.

Innovative advertising

As the 20th century pressed on, the fast-food industry's major players pursued various marketing and promotional techniques to reel in more customers. The now-defunct Burger Chef was the first to offer a burger, fries, and drink combo meal after the franchise launched in the late 1950s. Burger Chef also proved ahead of the game with the debut of their food-and-toy "Fun Meal" for kids in 1973, although they were unsuccessful at blocking McDonald's from nationally rolling out the Happy Meal in 1979.

While the mid-Atlantic chain Rays Kingburger claims it became the first fast-food restaurant to offer breakfast in 1972, McDonald's had already been selling breakfast items at select locations. The fast-food giant then upped the ante by introducing the eggs Benedict-based Egg McMuffin sandwich in 1972, before unveiling its national breakfast menu in 1977.

Following the onslaught of advertising between McDonald's, Burger King, and upstart Wendy's that marked the "burger wars" of the 1980s, Wendy's created a model for smaller chains to follow by introducing a 99-cent value menu in 1989. McDonald's also established a menu trend in 1987 with the introduction of "supersized" meals that provided bigger portions, before discontinuing the option in 2004.

Healthier choices

As the 20th century pressed on, the fast-food industry's major players pursued various marketing and promotional techniques to reel in more customers. The now-defunct Burger Chef was the first to offer a burger, fries, and drink combo meal after the franchise launched in the late 1950s. Burger Chef also proved ahead of the game with the debut of their food-and-toy "Fun Meal" for kids in 1973, although they were unsuccessful at blocking McDonald's from nationally rolling out the Happy Meal in 1979.

While the mid-Atlantic chain Rays Kingburger claims it became the first fast-food restaurant to offer breakfast in 1972, McDonald's had already been selling breakfast items at select locations. The fast-food giant then upped the ante by introducing the eggs Benedict-based Egg McMuffin sandwich in 1972, before unveiling its national breakfast menu in 1977.

Following the onslaught of advertising between McDonald's, Burger King, and upstart Wendy's that marked the "burger wars" of the 1980s, Wendy's created a model for smaller chains to follow by introducing a 99-cent value menu in 1989. McDonald's also established a menu trend in 1987 with the introduction of "supersized" meals that provided bigger portions, before discontinuing the option in 2004.