McDonalds

Having just enjoyed the annual Rte 66 parade and celebrations in San Bernardino, many will have been in the vicinity of the very first McDonald's.  It's located on E Street and it was here that two brothers, Dick and Mac, had their small eatery hauled from Arcadia on a flatbed trailer in 1940.

Eight years later they tired of their diner type business, and switched to burgers and fries at 15 cents and 10 cents respectively.  The place really took off.

In 1954 a salesman, Ray Kroc, from Illinois, came by to sell them some equipment.  He was amazed at their business, and suggested to the brothers the idea of a franchise back in Des Moines.  Seven years later, he offered them $2.7 million for the entire operation, and the rest as they say is history.  Today the company says it sells 52 million burgers everyday in 100 countries; 70% of the businesses are independantly owned.  The current site however, is no longer a McDonald's restaurant.  It was bought and restored by a Mr. Albert Okura, who owns a fast food chain himself called Juan Pollo.  He wanted to keep the site open as a museum and a monument to the original company that stood here and was the catalyst for so many similar places.