Today, heading to pretty much any fast food restaurant out there means that you’re going to be presented with a huge menu and plenty of options. In most big fast food places, you can pick between burgers, chicken sandwiches, salads, an array of side dishes, and a whole bunch of different desserts. Every fast food place is known for an item in particular (for McDonald’s, it could be the Big Mac or the fries, for example), but they all also try to offer something for everyone. Of course, there are a few places that keep it simple, like Chick-fil-A, which only sells chicken and no burgers, but for the most part, you’ve got lots of options.
It wasn’t always that way, though.
Back when these fast food places first started their businesses, their menus were a whole lot smaller. This may be because the restaurants weren’t super popular yet, or it could be because years and years ago, people just didn’t always have this many options. Maybe it’s both! Either way, it’s pretty interesting to look back and see what your favorite place used to offer when they first opened up. Restaurants like In-N-Out have pretty much stayed consistent with their menu, but that’s the exception.
1. McDonald’s
The above photo is actually an image of a menu from the 1960s. The original menu was even smaller.
When McDonald’s was originally opened in 1940 by Dick and Mac McDonald, it was called McDonald’s Bar-B-Q, and was a drive-in with a large menu and car service. In 1948, it reopened as more of the drive-in fast food place we know today. The original menu only had nine items, which is quite a difference from what they offer today. Those nine items were a hamburger, cheeseburger, various soft drinks, milk, coffee, potato chips, and a slice of pie. Not even any French fries!
2. Wendy’s
Wendy's
The first Wendy’s was opened in 1969 by Dave Thomas, a former army man.
According to Spoon University, the first menu bragged, “Quality is our Recipe.” It was a super small menu with only five items: hamburgers (with a round patty rather than the square ones they have today), chili (of course), French fries, a Frosty dairy dessert (only the chocolate flavor was offered), and soft drinks.
3. Burger King
The first original Burger King was opened in 1953 in Jacksonville, Florida, and was called Insta-Burger.
In 1954, it was re-opened as Burger King in Miami. Back then, the company’s logo was red and white, with red arches on the roof. The original menu was small as well, consisting of hamburgers, French fries, soft drinks, and a few desserts. It wasn’t until 1957 that the Whopper, Burger King’s signature burger, was introduced.
4. KFC
In 1951, Colonel Harlan Sanders connected with Leon “Pete” Harman, and the next year, the two met up in Salt Lake City, where Sanders showed off his secret recipe of 11 herbs and spices.
They ended up making a deal to serve the chicken in Harman’s restaurant. Sanders named the fried chicken dish “Kentucky Fried Chicken,” and it was a huge success. Eventually, the two worked together to make KFC.
An image of the first KFC menu in Australia shows that it included various different boxes of chicken, a bucket of chicken, a barrel of chicken, and a bunch of sides, including coleslaw, mixed bean salad, potato salad, fruit salad, hot potato chips, hot buns, and creamy whipped potatoes.
5. Taco Bell
When you think of Taco Bell today, you probably picture tacos, enchiladas, nachos, and cheesy potatoes.
The original menu was very, very different. The first Taco Bell franchise was opened in 1956, and according to Huffington Post, the menu only included four items. These were tacos, burritos, frijoles (a bean dish), and tostados. It wasn’t until the ’60s that they started venturing out to add other items.
6. Dunkin’ Donuts
Jackie W/Yelp
Dunkin’ Donuts began in 1948, when Bill Rosenberg opened a restaurant called Open Kettle that served premium coffee and donuts.
In 1950, he renamed the restaurant Dunkin’ Donuts. In the beginning, the menu was super simple — they literally only served coffee and donuts! It wasn’t until 1972 that Munchkins donut holes were introduced, and it wasn’t until 1996 that they added bagels to the menu. Coolatta beverages and breakfast sandwiches didn’t appear until 1997.
7. Sonic
After World War II ended, Troy Smith from Oklahoma started a business selling hamburgers, hot dogs, and root beer at a drive-in called the Top Hat.
He eventually turned that business into Sonic, making it a drive-in with parking spots and canopies so that customers could eat in their cars. The first menu included hamburgers, hot dogs, tater tots, onion rings, grilled cheese, sundaes, fried pies, shakes, and floats — so not too different from what it is today.
8. Popeyes
Popeyes actually began in 1972, when Alvin C. Copeland Sr. opened a place called Chicken on the Run in a New Orleans suburb called Arabi.
They served traditional Southern-fried chicken. It didn’t work out too well, and months later, he reopened the restaurant as Popeyes, where he sold spicy, New Orleans-style chicken. The first franchise was opened in Louisiana in 1976. The menu image above shows that the old menu included just fried chicken, clams, “livers and gizzards,” rice dressing, BBQ beans, cole slaw, onion rings, French fries, a chicken taco, corn on the cob, peppers, pudding, and hot apple pie. They didn’t introduce buttermilk biscuits until 1983.
9. Chick-fil-A
In November 1967, Truett Cathy opened the first Chick-fil-A restaurant in Atlanta’s Greenbriar Mall.
The original menu was super small compared to today’s menu (which features more than 50 items). The first menu had just a few classics, including the Original Chicken Sandwich, salads with boneless chicken breast, coleslaw, lemon pie, and lemonade.
10. Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut was opened in 1958 by two brothers who borrowed $600 from their mom to open a pizza place in Wichita, Kansas.
It was named Pizza Hut because the sign only had room for eight letters. In 1962, the menu was small and consisted of some pretty basic pizzas: mozzarella cheese, green peppers, sausage, mushroom, pepperoni, anchovy, pizza supreme, and hamburger. They also had beer, soda, milk, and coffee.
11. Chipotle
Compared to some of the other fast food restaurants out there, Chipotle is still pretty new.
It was founded by Steve Ells in 1993 and is based in Denver, Colorado. In the beginning, Ells and his father figured out that the store needed to sell 107 burritos each day in order to turn a profit, and they ended up doing a lot better than that. Within a month of opening, they were selling more than 1,000 burritos each day. According to Bustle, Chipotle’s original menu was pretty simple, consisting of tacos, fajitas, and huge burritos. The fillings included lime-cilantro rice, salsa, guacamole, peppers with onions, chicken, pork, and beef.
12. Dairy Queen
The first Dairy Queen opened in Joliet, Illinois, in 1940 by father-and-son team John Fremont McCullough and Bradley McCullough.
Before opening, they partnered with a friend’s restaurant, where they sold 1,600 of their now-famous soft serve ice creams in two hours. The success inspired them to start their own store: Dairy Queen. The menu consisted of their soft serve ice cream and a variety of toppings. In 1949, they introduced malts and shakes. In 1951, they added banana splits. Then, in 1958, they added food to the menu.
13. Arby’s
Arby’s was opened, during the summer of 1964, by two brothers named Leroy and Forrest Raffel.
The original name of the place was Big Tex, but they then re-named it RB (an abbreviation for Raffel brothers), and eventually changed it to Arby’s. In the beginning, the menu was limited and consisted of roast beef sandwiches, potato chips, Jamocha Shakes (their famous chocolate coffee shake), and soft drinks. The menu was a bit pricier than the competition, since they wanted Arby’s to stand out. Arby’s served potato cakes (no French fries!) as the main side until 1970, and didn’t introduce curly fries until 1988.
14. Starbucks
Starbucks first opened up in April 1971, and their menu was not nearly as extensive as it is today.
They sold a variety of 21 different teas, which included Lapsung Souchoung Keemun, Young Hyson, Russian Caravan, Gunpowder Dragonwell, and more. They also offered a variety of coffee flavors, some of which are still around — including Sumatra, Kenya, Uganda, Colombian, Mexican Java, New Guinea, Mocha Java, French Roast, Brazil, Yukon Blend, Peet’s Blend, and Major Dickenson’s Blend.
15. Little Caesars
Little Caesars began in 1959, and their first location was in Garden City, Michigan.
Back then, it was called Little Caesar’s Pizza Treat. In 1979, they introduced their famous catchphrase, “Pizza! Pizza!”, which referred to two pizzas being offered for the price of one. Originally, they served their pizzas in a single long package, but they got rid of those eventually for regular pizza boxes. They also served hot dogs, chicken, shrimp, and fish.
16. In-N-Out
Harry and Esther Snyder opened the very first In-N-Out — California’s first drive-thru hamburger stand — back in 1948.
And since then, the main menu has not changed. They still serve burgers, fries, and drinks such as soda, lemonade, and coffee. Milkshakes were later added in 1975. As for the first animal-style burger, it was prepared in 1951. Yum.
