Richard and Maurice McDonald

For the Canadian Olympic hurdler, see Rich McDonald. For the American contemporary figurative artist, see Richard MacDonald.
Richard McDonald
Born
Richard James McDonald

(1909-02-16)February 16, 1909[1]
Manchester, New Hampshire, U.S.
DiedJuly 14, 1998(1998-07-14) (aged 89)
Manchester, New Hampshire, U.S.
Resting placeMount Calvary Cemetery, Manchester, New Hampshire, U.S.
OccupationEntrepreneur
Years active1948–1998
Known forCo-founder of McDonald's
Maurice McDonald
Born
Maurice James McDonald

(1902-11-26)November 26, 1902[2]
Manchester, New Hampshire, U.S.
DiedDecember 11, 1971(1971-12-11) (aged 69)
Palm Springs, California, U.S.
Resting placeDesert Memorial Park, Cathedral City, California, U.S.
OccupationEntrepreneur
Years active1948–1971
Known forCo-founder of McDonald's

Richard James McDonald (February 16, 1909 – July 14, 1998) and Maurice James McDonald (November 26, 1902 – December 11, 1971), collectively known as the McDonald Brothers, were American entrepreneurs who founded the fast food company McDonald's. They opened the original McDonald's restaurant in 1940 in San Bernardino, California, where they created the Speedee Service System to produce their meals, a method that became the standard for fast food. After hiring Ray Kroc as their franchise agent in 1954, they continued to run the company until they were bought out by Kroc in 1961.

Early life[edit]

The McDonald brothers were born in Manchester, New Hampshire, to Irish parents Patrick James from Dingle and Margaret Anna Curran McDonald, who came to the United States as children.[3][4] Maurice was born in 1902, and Richard was born in 1909.[2] In the 1920s, the family moved to California, where Patrick opened a food stand in Monrovia in 1937.[5]

Careers[edit]

In the 1940s the brothers were operating a successful drive-in restaurant, but found several factors were cutting into their profits: some of the more expensive menu items, such as barbecue sandwiches, were rarely ordered, and they used actual dishes, that were constantly lost or broken, plus the reputation of drive-ins becoming seedy hangouts for teenagers were driving whole families away.

In 1948, the brothers fully redesigned and rebuilt their restaurant in San Bernardino to focus on a reduced menu consisting of their nine most profitable and cost-effective items: In addition to their 15-cent hamburger, the menu included a cheeseburger, soft drinks, milk, coffee, potato chips, and a slice of pie.[6] Their restaurant was about a mile from route 66 at 1398 North E Street at West 14th Street in San Bernardino. The site is now a museum.[7] The first months of the revived restaurant were a struggle, as many customers expected carhops to serve them like other drive-in restaurants, rather than having to walk up to the restaurant's window to order. The brothers persisted, keeping their simple menu, aside from replacing the potato chips with french fries. The restaurant soon appealed to drivers on the go who could get a quick meal with no waiting, and it also appealed to families that could eat a whole meal cheaply.

The McDonald brothers' restaurant was a success, and with the goal of making $1 million before they turned 50,[8] the McDonald brothers began franchising their system in 1953, beginning with a restaurant in Phoenix, Arizona, operated by Neil Fox.[6]

The brothers drew the attention of Ray Kroc, a milkshake mixer salesman for Prince Castle.[9] After they purchased eight of his Multi-Mixers for their San Bernardino, California restaurant, Kroc visited that restaurant in 1954.[10] That year the McDonald brothers hired Kroc as their franchise agent. Kroc took 1.9% of gross sales, of which the McDonald brothers got 0.5%.[11][12]

Kroc became frustrated with the McDonald brothers' desire to maintain a small number of restaurants. The brothers also consistently told Kroc he could not make changes to things such as the original blueprint. Kroc eventually decided he wanted control of the company entirely, Kroc bought the company in 1961 for $2.7 million, calculated so as to ensure each brother received $1 million after taxes.[13]

At the closing, Kroc became annoyed that the brothers would not transfer to him the real estate and rights to the original San Bernardino location. The brothers had told Kroc they were giving the operation, property and all, to the founding employees. In his anger, Kroc later opened a new McDonald's restaurant near the original McDonald's, which had been renamed "The Big M" because the brothers had neglected to retain rights to the name. "The Big M" closed six years later.[14] Speaking to someone about the buyout, Richard McDonald reportedly said that he had no regrets.[15]

On November 30, 1984, Richard McDonald, the first cook behind the grill of a McDonald's, was served the ceremonial 50 billionth McDonald's hamburger by Ed Rensi, then-president of McDonald's USA, at the Grand Hyatt hotel in New York City.[16][17][18]

Death and legacy[edit]

Maurice McDonald died from heart failure[19] at his home in Palm Springs, California, on December 11, 1971, at the age of 69.[20]

Richard McDonald also died from heart failure in a nursing home in Manchester, New Hampshire, on July 14, 1998, at the age of 89.[21] He was buried at the Mount Calvary Cemetery in Manchester.[8][17][22]

In the 2016 film The Founder, a biopic about Ray Kroc and his business relationship with the McDonald brothers, Richard (Dick) McDonald is played by Nick Offerman,[23][24] and John Carroll Lynch portrays Maurice (Mac) McDonald.[24]

The site of the first McDonald's was purchased in 1998 by Albert Okura, founder of restaurant chain Juan Pollo, who moved his company's headquarters to the location and established an unofficial McDonald's museum on the site.[7][25]

References[edit]

  1. ^ legacy.com
  2. ^ a b Chatelain, Marcia (2020). "Chapter One: Fast Food Civil Rights". Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America. New York City: Liveright Publishing. p. 25. ISBN 978-1-63149-394-2.
  3. ^ "Maurice J Mc Donald, "New Hampshire Birth Certificates - Birth certificate states birthplace of father and mother". Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  4. ^ "When Dad Lost His Job, the McDonald Brothers Started a Fast-Food Empire". 3 February 2017.
  5. ^ Muldoon, John P. (May 28, 2013). "From Immigration to Mega-Wealth". johnmuldoon.ie. Archived from the original on September 18, 2013. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  6. ^ a b "OurHistory". McDonald's. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  7. ^ a b "Original McDonald's Site & Museum". California Route 66 Association. Archived from the original on June 12, 2020. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  8. ^ a b Gilpin, Kenneth N. (July 16, 1998). "Richard McDonald, 89, Fast-Food Revolutionary". The New York Times. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
  9. ^ Neil Snyder (June 15, 2010). Vision, Values, and Courage: Leadership for Quality Management. Simon and Schuster. p. 133. ISBN 978-1-4516-0252-4.
  10. ^ "Our History: Ray Kroc & The McDonald's Brothers". McDonald's. Retrieved 2021-09-12.
  11. ^ Brancaccio, David (February 9, 2017). "The true origin story behind McDonald's". Marketplace. Archived from the original on September 7, 2023. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  12. ^ Gross, Daniel (October 1996). Forbes' Greatest Business Stories of All Time. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-471-14314-7
  13. ^ "Ray Kroc: Burger Baron". Entrepreneur. October 9, 2008. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  14. ^ Kroc (1977). Grinding It Out. H. Regnery. p. 123. ISBN 9780809282593.
  15. ^ Gilpin, Kenneth N. (July 16, 1998). "Richard McDonald, 89, Fast-Food Revolutionary". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on September 21, 2021. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  16. ^ Anderson Heller, Susan; Dunlap, David W. (November 21, 1984). "50 Billion and Still Cooking". The New York Times. p. B3. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  17. ^ a b Velasco, Alejandra Yáñez (July 1998). "Restaurant Innovator Richard McDonald Dies at 89: Pioneered McDonald's, World's Largest Restaurant System". Hotel Online. Retrieved May 14, 2012.
  18. ^ "La reina de la cocina (rápida) cumple 100 años". El Mundo (in Spanish). May 30, 2004. Archived from the original on February 12, 2005. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  19. ^ Stice, Joel (March 15, 2019). "The Tragic Real-Life Story Of The McDonald Brothers". Mashed. Archived from the original on May 30, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  20. ^ "Maurice J. McDonald Dies at 69; Hamburger Chain's Co Founder". The New York Times. December 14, 1971. Archived from the original on August 12, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  21. ^ Gilpin, Kenneth N. (July 16, 1998). "Richard McDonald, 89, Fast-Food Revolutionary". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  22. ^ "Fast food supremo dies" Archived 2022-01-31 at the Wayback Machine July 15, 1998. BBC News. Accessed January 6, 2007.
  23. ^ Eschner, Kat (February 16, 2017). "Nick Offerman's Character in 'The Founder' Is Based on This Real Historical Figure". Smithsonian Magazine. Archived from the original on February 17, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  24. ^ a b Itzkoff, Dave (January 18, 2017). "'The Founder': Burgers, Fries and a Couple of Wiseguys". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 18, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  25. ^ Elliott, Farley (Oct 27, 2023). "California's unofficial McDonald's museum is a fast food fever dream". sfgate.com.

External links[edit]

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