Salute to the Big Mac

Fast Food is Americana

Admittedly, my favorite fast food hamburger is the Whopper. Further, my favorite fast food, hamburger chain is Wendy’s. However, it’s hard to disagree that the most iconic hamburger in American history is the McDonald’s Big Mac. In recent decades, many restaurant chains have chipped away at the McDonald’s market dominance. However, McDonalds still remains the world’s largest fast food chain by revenue. Obviously, much of McDonald’s revenue currently and historically is thanks to the Big Mac. So, due to it’s contribution to American history, I feel a salute to the Big Mac is appropriate. Undoubtedly, there are few things more Americana than fast food.

Birthplace of the Big Mac

Richard and Maurice McDonald founded McDonalds in California around 1940. Subsequently, in 1955, Ray Kroc wormed his way into the company. Then, he bought it out, and made it into a national fast food giant. However, this was all done without the Big Mac. In 1967, franchise owner, Jim Delligatti, invented the Big Mac. Jim introduced the Big Mac at his Uniontown, Pennsylvania, location. Furthermore, the Big Mac originally sold for 45 cents. Jim wanted the Big Mac to compete with Frisch’s Big Boy hamburger. Within the next year, the Big Mac became the flagship item sold nationally at all franchises. Certainly, as the birthplace of the Big Mac, you would naturally assume that McDonald’s would anoint Jim’s Uniontown franchise as the mecca of McDonalds. Shockingly, that assumption is tragically incorrect…

Injustice against Mr. Delligatti

Above, you should see my photos of the Big Mac museum sign and the world’s largest Big Mac. Logically, these photo’s must have been taken at Mr. Delligatti’s Uniontown franchise…where the Big Mac was invented. But nooooooo…these pictures are at an unrelated franchise in Irwin, PA. Surprisingly, the McDonald’s corporate machine did Mr. Delligatti wrong. Jim got screwed by the man. Mr. Delligatti’s statue, the largest Big Mac, and much more McDonald’s/Big Mac history all reside at the Big Mac museum/franchise in Irwin. So, why the slight to Jim? I believe its all about location, location, location. The Irwin franchise/museum is within the greater Pittsburgh metropolitan area. Jim’s Uniontown franchise is an hour south, out in the middle of no where. Despite my own personal outrage at this injustice, I still offer a few highlights from the McDonald’s museum inappropriately located in Irwin, PA.

The Big Mac Museum of Irwin, PA

The main display in the museum is the the Big Mac big board. Not surprisingly, the board goes though all the historic highlights of the Big Mac since it’s invention in 1967. As a notable example, the “two all beef patties…” slogan swept the nation in 1974. My favorite display in the museum is the packaging evolution. Initially, the Big Mac was in a paper based package. But eventually, the evil styrofoam package took over the duty. Ultimately, public pressure urged McDonald’s to switch back to more biodegradable options. Beyond these things, the museum houses many other historic treasures, such as Happy Meal toys, pictures, bobble heads, and all tacky things ever made for McDonalds. You are free to enjoy all the displays as you dine on your own Big Mac.

Wrap it up

So, that is my salute to the Big Mac. I am not going to try to convince you that the museum is a breath-taking vacation destination. But, if you are south of Pittsburgh, you might want to consider visiting these little slices of Americana. You can dine at the Uniontown franchise, birthplace of the Big Mac…where there is only one crappy sign. Or, you can dine at the much celebrated Irwin franchise/museum where Mr. Delligatti got shafted by the McDonald’s corporate machine. Have a wonderful day. PT

I hope you have enjoyed my “Salute to the Big Mac” on Traveling with PugsleyTonks.

If you want to know where the hamburger was first invented… https://travelingwithpt.com/ode-to-the-hamburger/

If you still need more on McDonald’s history, here you go… https://corporate.mcdonalds.com/corpmcd/our-company/who-we-are/our-history.html

p.s. If you are interested in a bit of McDonald’s arch trivia, see the pictures below. Originally, the iconic symbol of McDonald’s was NOT the double arches. It was only a single arch. Furthermore, the single arches was more than just the logo, the single arch was actually structurally part of the building. And, if that is not enough, the single arch often featured “Speedee,” McDonalds’ first mascot.

This McDonalds happens to be from my recent Vegas trip. Sadly, it’s a recreation of the first McDonalds’ building design…not an original. Throughout the U.S.A., there are 12 remaining McDonald’s that are the original buildings with the single arch design. BOLO