The Fast Foodie Empire

Take a drive through E Street in San Bernardino and you can very easily be reminded of the historical roots of the most famous fast food conglomerate in the world: McDonald’s. A visit by Gustavo Arellano to Redlands Forum in October 2016 heightened awareness of the I.E.’s local role in other little known history of fast food when he explained the history of Mexican food and it’s impact on the United States. Author of Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America and editor of OC Weekly, Gustavo Arellano gave the audience some insights on the roots to other familiar fast food chains that chased the American Dream of success by way of Mexican recipes.

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Veterans who were finding their way into civilian life post-World War II found themselves innovating in the growing appreciation of Mexican food as we know it in the United States. Mexican food in the U.S. evolved over a long history starting in the late 1800s in San Antonio, Texas.

Veterans and entrepreneurs were able to take advantage of the migration along Route 66 by opening eateries. The McDonald’s brothers kicked off the fast food success by selling hamburgers over their original intentions to sell barbeque since it was their best seller. When a Fontana-based architect Stanley Meston answered the call to make McDonald’s stand out with golden arches, the rest of became fast food history with Ray Kroc at the helm.

McDonald’s success caught the attention of Glenn Bell, a San Bernardino High School alum who was born in Long Beach. When he saw the success-in-the-making of McDonald’s as they were finding their way in scaling operations to the standard of franchises it is today, Bell worked on his own version of success by opening a series of restaurants on his own.

See how other familiar brands come into the fold by viewing the infographic below.