McDonald’s and Howard Johnson’s

1. The original Howard Johnson hotels were often motels located along major highways to accomodate the increasing number of motorists and road travelers, thanks to the general trend of increased affluence of the time. McDonald’s and Howard Johnson’s The original McDonald’s menu only included a few items—but these limited items were of the same quality at each location, and the items were produced in mass quantities, setting the stage for modern mass production of fast food. Howard Johnson’s catered towards motorists and travelers, as an increasing number of families owned cars, and were more affluent. One of the first McDonald’s locations. The franchising system—developed by Ray Kroc—allowed McDonalds’ to be opened up in a variety of location, yet all locations were a part of the larger company, ensuring consistency. Sam Fox and Danielle C.

2. The 1950’s were a period in American history when some of the most valued aspects of the American Dream were conformity and affluence. When looking at two of the biggest commercial franchises of the era, both of these factors influence the way that both McDonald’s and Howard Johnson’s expanded their empires. McDonald’s, now the biggest and most well known fast food chain in the world, started as just a few restaurants owned by brothers Rick and Maurice McDonald, before they began franchising with the help of Ray Kroc. Ray Kroc once said, “I put the hamburger on the assembly line,” and this strategy worked perfectly for McDonalds, which gained its success because of its ability to have their orders made quickly and efficiently, and because of their very limited menu, originally consisting only of burgers, fries and shakes. Their business model of pumping out burgers, each the same as the other perfectly represents the conformity of the 50’s, a time period focused around conformity, where each person was expected to marry, have a small family, and live a suburb full of houses exactly alike. In this society, material goods were prized, and everyone had to buy similar or better houses, cars, and appliances as their neighbors. Howard Johnson’s was a chain of motels (car lodges) and restaurants that in addition to using the formula of making each of their restaurants identical, also took advantage of the affluence and economic success of the 50’s. In the 50’s, it had become common for middle class families to be able one or two cars, and they used these to go on road trips with their identical families on the new highways of the era, creating an opening for Howard Johnson’s. By 1954, 10% of restaurants and motor lodges that Howard Johnson owned, (and even more of the company’s franchised locations), were located along highways and turnpikes, and these turned out to be the most successful. "I put the hamburger on the assembly line." --Ray Kroc "I never played golf. I never played tennis. I never did anything after I left school. I ate, slept and thought of nothing but the business.“—Howard Johnson