30 Vintage Photos of Fast Food Restaurants Over the Years

McDonald’s launched its first outlet way back in 1940. Hamburgers were one of their fastest-selling items. The fast-food chain started gaining popularity in the early 1960s, although it didn’t launch its first TV commercial until 1963.

McDonald’s was once a hot-dog stand, and it has come quite far in all these years. At one point, the fast-food chain was the largest distributor of toys in the world, all thanks to its kid-focused Happy Meals.

Founded by a person named Harland Sanders — aka Colonel Sanders — KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) has become one of the most popular fast-food chains across the globe.

KFC first began serving fried chicken at a petrol station that Sanders owned, which he later converted to a fast-food outlet. KFC’s first official outlet was opened in Salt Lake City in 1952. The KFC recipe is still a top secret and so, it’s locked up safely in the vault of its headquarters.

Taco Bell came into existence in 1962. The chain was named after its founder, Glen Bell. The first location had no indoor seating, but rather was just a kitchen with a window to take customer’s orders. The tacos were originally sold for 19 cents.

The 400-square-foot property featured fire pits and a Mariachi band, earning the chain a reputation of being relaxed and laid-back. It’s no wonder people love it so much.

Burger King is often compared to McDonald’s — and it’s, in fact, actually inspired by it in several different aspects. Started by Keith G. Cramer, BK lost money in its first year.

Luckily, it recovered and has since become one of the most popular and recognized fast-food chains in the US and beyond. In this old pic, a group of customers can be seen coming and going from the chain, relishing about the infamous Whopper Burger.

Wendy’s was started by Dave Thomas in 1969. It opened up its first outlet in Colombus, Ohio (as seen in the image.) During the ’80s, Wendy’s had an immensely popular salad bar.

The fast-food outlet was also known for its training videos (which you can binge-watch on YouTube). In no time, the quick-service chain became known for its square beef patties — made from fresh beef — and iconic Frosty shakes.

Dunkin’ Donuts is also known as Dunkin’ for short. It opened its first grub post in 1948 in Quincy, Massachusetts — under the name, Open Kettle. Here you can see one of the oldest signs of Dunkin’ Donuts.

It instantly takes us back to what the fast-food outlet was decades ago in terms of vibe and appearance. In this picture, you can see its logo in cherry red and pastel pink as opposed to the brighter colors of today’s logo.

White Castle is known for its ‘too yum to describe in words’ sliders. It was first founded in 1921 in Wichita (refer to the image below.) Ironically, no White Castle exists today in the state of Kansas, the birthplace of the fast-food chain.

The fast-food chain landed itself in Time magazine, a publication that referred to White Castle burgers as one of the most influential burgers of the times. That’s sayin’ something!

Known for finger-lickin’ sandwiches, Arby’s opened its first outlet way back in 1964. In the image, you can see the original Arby’s building at Hikes Lane. The building has more or less retained its original architecture.

Did you also know that Arby’s was the first fast-food chain to ban smoking across all its outlets?! This was definitely a good move to make.

Pictured here is the first Jack in the Box shop, opened to the public in 1951. A burger at this American fast-food outlet used to cost 18 cents at one point in time. Jack in the Box made a lot of first moves — introducing portable salad in 1982, among plenty of other things.

Sadly, Jack in the Box has since discontinued some of its original creations as per the needs and wants of its customers. Looks like they already knew that ‘Customer is always right.’

No, you won’t get spinach here nor will you find the lissome Olive Oyl. Here, you’ll only get chicken – and whatever other food items they serve. Popeyes was founded in 1972 in New Orleans.

Since then, it has grown by leaps and bounds, to the point that it’s now one of the top five chicken QSRs (Quick Service Restaurants) across the US. Plus, did you know that Popeyes provided Beyoncé with a lifetime supply of their chicken?

Founded in 1984, Culver’s is famed for its frozen custard. Since its opening, the restaurant has been following the tradition of ‘flavor of the day’ in which the customer can create their own flavor by choosing mix-ins to go with their custard.

Culver’s was started by Craig and Lea Culver after they were inspired by their mother’s preparation of hamburgers and custard. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Sonic Drive-In is commonly known as Sonic. This 1980 image from the drive-in takes us back to the good old days. The term sonic is actually a nod to its speediness, which inspired their slogan, “Service With the Speed of Sound.”

Here are a couple of fun facts for your guys — (1) Sonic and Dr. Pepper have been teaming for years to host their annual carhop competition, and (2) Cherry Limeade is one of the frequently ordered items from the Sonic Drive-In menu.

El Pollo Loco was founded in 1975 by the Pancho family, who can be seen posing together in the image at one of the original outlets of El Pollo Loco. The chain is known for its grilled Mexican-style chicken.

Did you know that they were one of the first employers of Brad Pitt? Apparently, Pitt’s job description involved getting dressed up in a chicken costume and handing out the flyers to the crowd.

Beloved pizza giant Pizza Hut was founded in 1958 after its founders, Dan and Frank Carney, took a $600 loan from their mother to open a pizzeria. They opened their first outlet on the campus of Wichita State University, where they were studying.

Pizza Hut’s name was inspired by the bar it was replacing. During its early days, it had a mascot named Pizza Pete. In 1980, Pizza Hut revolutionized the pizza scene by introducing pan pizza.

Domino’s Pizza owner Tom Monaghan was originally a college dropout. In the image, you can see its 1960 logo, which has evolved over the course of years. Domino’s Pizza started as DomiNick’s Pizza.

As per their official website, Domino’s claims to sell an average of three million pizzas a day, with most of their sales coming from outside the US! Not that we don’t believe it, but that sounds like quite a lot of sales.

The following picture is of the first Subway restaurant in 1965. It was opened by Fred DeLuca and Peter Buck using a $1,000 loan. Subway’s first outlet was called Pete’s Submarines. Customers were charged 70 cents for the subs.

In 1968, Fred re-branded the outlet and changed the name to Subway — and the rest is history. Subway was also featured in the movie, Terminator 2: Judgement Day.

Seattle-headquartered Starbucks was founded by trio Gordon Bowker, Jerry Baldwin, and Zev Siegl. Surprisingly, not a single one of them was a coffee connoisseur. The image that you see here is of Starbucks’ first outlet.

Originally, they only sold coffee beans. Currently, there’s a Starbucks coffee shop in 30,000 different locations worldwide, indicating just how far its come. An uber-cool fact about this coffee chain is that there’s a secret Starbucks for CIA members.

Chick-fil-A was founded in 1946 by S. Truett Cathy. The image from 1967 is of a Chick-fil-A outlet inside Atlanta’s Greenbriar Mall. Cathy also owns another grub post called The Dwarf House, which is primarily a US-based chain.

Chick-fil-A is credited for popularizing chicken sandwiches. The ‘A’ in the brand name indicates the quality of its food and service offered — i.e. Grade A.

Dairy Queen was founded in 1940 by John Fremont McCullough. This vintage picture is of Dairy Queen’s outpost in Indiana. Originally, the curl on top of Dairy Queen soft serve (shaped like a Q) was considered to be a trademark.

Their first location in Illinois is considered a landmark. Dairy Queen is particularly famous for its Blizzard, a soft-serve treat that’s so cold, it can be held upside-down without any spillage.

Carl’s Jr. restaurant, initially a hot-dog stand, was opened in 1941 by Carl Karcher. The Jr. in Carl’s Jr. refers to mini Carl’s restaurants Karcher attempted opening in 1956. These restaurants were smaller in both size and scale.

Hence, they were given the name Carl’s Jr. The image you see here has an old Carl’s Jr. logo. This brand is also hailed for introducing food trucks long before that trend came into fashion.

Founded by Zach Mcleroy, Zaxby’s opened its first outlet in 1990 in Statesboro, GA. He, along with a friend, invested $16,000 in opening the first Zaxby’s eatery. The company is known for its various sauces.

Zaxby’s is one of the only outlets to hand out free meals to those who join their e-mail club. That’s not a bad idea, eh?

Krispy Kreme was founded in 1937 by Vernon Rudolph, who can be seen posing in the picture, holding boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts. The pastry shop is most famous for its classic glazed donut.

The recipe is said to have come from a French chef and was brought to the states by Rudolph. Initially, the company started off as a wholesale donut factory that only supplied to supermarkets but soon after, the Krispy Kreme founders changed their business model.

Dallas-headquartered TGI Friday’s was founded in 1965. This old picture features one of their first restaurants opening for a swarm of people. TGI Friday’s is one of the first singles bars in America.

A lot of celebrities worked here before their career took off including the likes of Ellen DeGeneres, Brad Garrett, and many more.

Red Lobster was started by Bill Darden, an out-and-out newbie to the restaurant business. They opened their first location in Lakeland, Florida (pictured below). The place got its name thanks to Darden’s fascination with colorful animals.

They were the first ones to introduce snow crab and calamari to Middle America. The restaurant was also the first to create the world’s first commercial lobster farm. It seems like this restaurant had a lot of firsts.

Pizza chain Little Caesars today is anything but little. It has grown and how. Little Caesars was founded in 1959 in Garden City, Michigan. The specific chain pictured here happens to the very first one to come about.

The chain was founded by Mike Illitch after he pumped his entire life savings in building his food empire. His bet took off and today, Little Caesars is one of the popular chains across the United States.

Jimmy John’s was founded in 1983 by Jimmy John Liautaud. Jimmy was only 19 years old when he founded his now-famous fast-food chain. He had first thought of starting a hot-dog stand.

Jimmy adopted a unique strategy to build up their clientele. In order to establish their customer base, the chain used to hand out subs to college students for almost nothing. Their strategy worked, and the rest is history.

Baskin-Robbins was founded in California in 1945. This old image really captures what Baskin Robbins was like when it initially opened up to the public. Its founders, Burt Baskin and Irv Robbins, were brothers-in-law.

Baskin Robbins is the only ice-cream chain in the world to introduce the concept of 31 flavors — a new flavor for each day. They’ve also been rolling out limited-edition ice creams since their launch.

Panda Express is a fast-food chain that dabbles in Chinese cuisine. It was started by Andrew Cherng, Peggy Cherng, and Ming Tsai Cherng in 1983 in California. This image was taken a year after its initial opening. Panda Express was billed as a fast-food version of Panda Inn.

The founders of this restaurant were college sweethearts and Chinese immigrants. It’s one of the only family-owned restaurants that’s still performing well since its inception.

Jersey Mike’s was founded by Peter Cancro in 1956 in, as you might have guessed it, New Jersey. The image that you see here is from their first outlet in Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey. The chain was (as you can see) originally called Jersey Mike’s Submarines.

It benefitted a lot from its prime strategic location. Today, the restaurant is present in more than 2,000 locations worldwide — with many more branches expected to launch in the near future.

Auntie Anne’s was started by Anne F. Beiler and Jonas Z. Beiler in Pennsylvania back in 1988. In the image, you can see Anne staring at the signpost, located in one of the earlier Auntie Anne’s outlets. The chain is famed for its ‘You can’t have just one pretzel’ slogan.

In real life, Anne was actually an aunt to 30 nieces and nephews! In 2005, the founders stepped away from the business to concentrate their efforts towards a community counseling center.