Fast Food: U.S. Growth Industry

Archive Report

Rapid Growth in the Seventies

Appeal of Low Prices and Fast Service

What is more American than apple pie? The answer today is hamburgers — or fried chicken or pizza. Americans are eating out more than ever before, and away-from-home meals are increasingly likely to be eaten at fast-food outlets that dot the nation's landscape. Chains such as McDonald's, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Burger King and Pizza Hut serve a multitude of customers with minimum delay (hence “fast” food) at relatively low prices. Not only is the fast-food business booming, but the future looks very bright. John C. Maxwell Jr., a food industry analyst, calls the 1970s the “decade of the fast-food business” and predicts “excellent growth” in the years ahead.1

Industry observers estimate that fast-food restaurant sales ...

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