Since its inception in the 1950s, fast food has grown to cult status in America and the world, to the extent of being a $255 billion industry in the US today. Fans of fast food pledge allegiance to a few chains in particular, and find their way back regularly. Fast food is inexpensive, extremely tasty, and filling too. Pizza, burgers, pasta, wings, ribs, donuts and bagels make the world go round and unify people who don’t even speak the same language!
Be it your daily coffee fix at Starbucks, or your light-on-the-wallet but incredibly tasty breakfast from McDonald’s, everyone has a go-to fast food chain without which life would be rather hard. Here are some of the movers and shakers of the fast-food world.
McDonald’s
McDonald’s is without a doubt the largest food chain in the entire world. It has been around since 1940, founded by Richard and Maurice McDonald, and serves an assortment of burgers, fries, rolls and wraps at all times. The Happy Meal and McDonald’s party pack are world famous. Their menus are personalized according to location, and they have over 35,000 branches all around the world. Their 2013 revenue was an incredible $28.1 billion.
Subway
Subway is yet another America-born fast-food franchise, specializing in “submarine” sandwiches, also called subs, and salads. Founded in 1965, by Peter Buck and Fre DeLuca in Connecticut as “Pete’s Super Submarines”, Subway has come a long way and now spans 42,070 outlets across as many as 107 countries.
It is the healthiest of the lot and offers subs, salads, baked goods, wraps and a whole lot more. One of their most popular sandwiches is the Italian BMT, loaded with salami, ham, and pepperoni.
Burger King
Founded in 1953 in Miami by two locals, Burger King started off well but ran into financial issues quite soon. In 1954, two of its franchisees, David Edgerton, and James McLamore decided to purchase the entire company. Their signature “Whopper” burger was launched in 1957, and has been a massive hit ever since, dubbed “America’s Best Sandwich”. They have 13,667 branches in as many as 95 countries today.
KFC
Colonel Sanders’ Kentucky Fried Chicken has been around since 1930, and is the world’s second largest chain of restaurants in terms of sales, behind McDonald’s. One of the first chains to try international expansion, KFC now has 18,875 outlets in 118 countries. Chicken wings, fries, hamburgers, milkshakes- you name it, they have it! Their super-secret 11 spices and herbs recipe is amazing and is one of the several things which draw customers back time and again.
Starbucks
To most Americans, Starbucks equals coffee and vice versa! Easily the largest coffeehouse chain in the world, it started in Seattle in 1971, and soon grew into a monumental empire. It is home to the widest range of coffees from around the world, and also serves sandwiches, confectionery, bagels and a lot more. Open in over 23,000 locations in 64 countries, it generates almost 15 billion USD in yearly revenue.
Pizza Hut
You can’t think about pizza without thinking of Pizza Hut. It is the largest delivery and takeout chain in the world and was started by Frank and Dan Carney in 1958. They serve pizzas, garlic bread sticks, wings, desserts, pasta and much more. They operate very successfully in 94 countries and have over 11,000 restaurants.
Domino’s Pizza
The second largest pizza chain in America, and the world’s largest chain, Domino’s is synonymous with Pizza. It was founded in Michigan in 1960 and expanded rapidly to over 11,000 outlets across 70-odd countries. They serve all the good stuff and are known for their distinctive “30-minute delivery, or free” scheme.
Taco Bell
The most successful Mexican cuisine chain of restaurants, Taco Bell was founded by Glen Bell in 1954. What started as a food stand soon became a roaring restaurant business, and is now the world’s highest selling Tex-Mex chain, specializing in burritos, quesadillas, tacos etc. In 2013 alone, their revenue was near $2bn, and they had a fantastic 6,500 restaurants the world over.
Dunkin’ Donuts
This is one of the most famous donut companies in the world. It was founded in 1950 in Massachusetts by William Rosenberg. They serve a variety of tasty treats, from munchkins and bagels to coated donuts, burgers and a ton of baked goods. They are also known for their cheap but great coffee and their location-specific donut varieties. They span across 33 countries and 11,000 restaurants as of today.
Dairy Queen
DQ or Dairy Queen is a leading soft-serve chain, founded by McCullough and Noble in Illinois in 1940. They are world renowned for ice-cream, sundaes, soft-serves and milkshakes, but also serve full meals with salads, burgers, and hot dogs. The Blizzard is their signature offering, and they have 5700 branches in 30 countries and are ever expanding.
Fast food is, was, and always will be the delights you love to hate and hate to love. Each of these chains provides a slice of heaven to their customers, and their legacies will live on forever.
Andrew Thompson is a food blogger. He has traveled the world in search of exotic food and delicious treats and loves writing and posting pictures about his gastronomic conquests. He highly recommends https://www.mcdelivery.co.in/ for delicious food, delivered to your doorstep.
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Yes they are, and we have almost of them here now :)