The history of fast food in the United States
With all the news media focusing on the fast food industry of today and how it contributes to Obesity in American's and serious health issues, one often thinks is this real? When asking this question, many go exploring the answers. When you look into the facts, there is substantial evidence that fast food chains serve up some seriously fatty, hisg sodium and sugar packed foods. So one may wonder from time to time, did fast food restaurants always have these practices? Better yet, Where did fast food start in America?
When looking into the history of fast food in America, there are a few debates. However, most research indicated, that the first fast food restaurant in America was opened in New York City, on July 7, 1912 by Horn & Hardart. The restaurant was called "Automat" and was a cafeteria offering pre-prepared food behind small glass windows. This was their first advertised, patterned Automat. However, they had previously opened one in Philadelphia ten years earlier. So, we really could say fast food in America started in 1902 instead of 1912.
Before we say for sure, though that the history of fast food started in 1902 with Horn & Hardart's first cafeteria in Philadelphia, we need to look at the definition of fast food. The definition of fast food is "food that can be prepared and served quickly". The definition of the term fast food doesn't say in order to be fast food that it has to be in a restaurant or cafeteria. With this in mind we can actually say that perhaps the history of fast food actually dates back to 1867. In 1867, a German Butcher named Charles Feltman opened the first Coney Island hot dog stand in Brooklyn, New York City. Hot dogs are one of the fasted and easiest hot foods you can prepare.
Some people say maybe fast food started with the T.V. dinners. However, while you can now microwave a T.V. dinner in minutes and it is easy, it had to be made somewhere else first. Somewhere the T.V. dinner was cooked, then frozen before you bought it from the store. Chances are the full T.V. dinners in the stores weren't prepared quickly, they were just made in mass quantities. Knowing this, should by all means debunk T.V. dinners from being considered as the beginning of fast food.
Some may contribute the history of fast food leading back to 1872, when a man from Providence, Rhode Island, named Walter Scott, brought hot dinners to workers. Walter Scott set up a simple kitchen in a horse drawn lunch wagon to prepare the food in. There is no info on what kind of meals Walter prepared so one could argue this. With a simple kitchen set up he could have pots cooking all day or could cook just minutes before distribution. These questions add to the debate.
If you ask the younger generation or research the popular names of modern day fast food establishments such as McDonalds, Burger King, Sonic, Wendy's and Jack in the Box you'll find they came after the first hot dog vendor and the horse drawn lunch wagon. After the first Horn & Hardart's in 1912, the fast food industry exploded with the first White Castle hamburger restaurant opening in 1916, in Witchita Kansas. Soon following in 1919, was the first A & W Rootbeer on Sacramento, California. McDonald's in Arcada, California and KFC in Corbin, Indiana both opened their first restaurant in 1937. In N Out Burger followed in 1948 with their first restaurant, then Burger King in 1954, and Wendy's in 1969. Taco Bell, Jack in the Box and hundereds of other fast food restaurants came in between and since to make the fast food industry the top industry in the U.S.
So what is the history of fast food? Where did it begin? While many say fast food began with Horn and Hardart's in the 1900's, I have to disagree. My personal opinion about the history of fast food is that it began with the first Coney Island hot dog stand in Brooklyn, New York City, in 1867.