who started up mcdonalds?
Ray Kroc
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 The predecessor to Burger King was founded in 1953 in Jacksonville , Florida , as Insta @-@ Burger King . After visiting the McDonald brothers ' original store location in San Bernardino , California , the founders and owners ( Keith J. Kramer and his wife 's uncle Matthew Burns ) , who had purchased the rights to two pieces of equipment called " Insta " machines , opened their first restaurants . Their production model was based on one of the machines they had acquired , an oven called the " Insta @-@ Broiler " . This strategy proved so successful that they later required all of their franchises to use the device . After the company faltered in 1959 , it was purchased by its Miami , Florida franchisees , James McLamore and David R. Edgerton . They initiated a corporate restructuring of the chain , first renaming the company Burger King . They ran the company as an independent entity for eight years ( eventually expanding to over 250 locations in the United States ) , before selling it to the Pillsbury Company in 1967 . 

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 A number of other successful " drive up " businesses have their roots in the 1950s , including McDonald 's ( expanded c . 1955 ) , which had no dine @-@ in facilities , requiring customers to park and walk up to the window , taking their order " to go " . Automation and the lack of dining facilities allowed McDonald 's to sell burgers for 15 cents each , instead of the typical 35 cents , and people were buying them by the bagful . By 1948 , they had fired their carhops , installed larger grills , reduced their menu and radically changed the industry by introducing assembly @-@ line methods of food production , similar to the auto industry , dubbing it the " Speedee Service System " . They redesigned their sign specifically to make it easier to see from the road , creating the now familiar yellow double @-@ arch structure . Businessman Ray Kroc joined McDonald 's as a franchise agent in 1955 . He subsequently purchased the chain from the McDonald brothers and oversaw its worldwide growth . 

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 The first McDonald 's franchise was sold by the McDonald brothers to a Phoenix entrepreneur in 1952 . Neil Fox paid $ 1 @,@ 000 for the rights to open an establishment based on the McDonald brothers ' restaurant . The hamburger stand opened in 1953 on the southwest corner of Central Avenue and Indian School Road on the growing north side of Phoenix , and was the first location to sport the now internationally known " golden arches " , which were initially twice the height of the building . Three other franchise locations opened that year , a full two years before Kroc purchased McDonald 's and opened his first franchise in Illinois . 

entailment
 The predecessor to what is now the international fast food restaurant chain Burger King was founded in 1953 in Jacksonville , Florida , as Insta @-@ Burger King . Inspired by the McDonald brothers ' original store location in San Bernardino , California , the founders and owners , Keith J. Kramer and his wife 's uncle Matthew Burns , began searching for a concept . After purchasing the rights to two pieces of equipment called " Insta " machines , the two opened their first stores around a cooking device known as the Insta @-@ Broiler . The Insta @-@ Broiler oven proved so successful at cooking burgers , they required all of their franchises to carry the device . After the original company began to falter in 1954 , it was purchased by its Miami , Florida , franchisees James McLamore and David R. Edgerton . The two initiated a corporate restructuring of the chain ; the first step being to rename the company Burger King . The duo ran the company as an independent entity for eight years , eventually expanding to over 250 locations in the United States , when they sold it to the Pillsbury Company in 1967 . 

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 The company introduced the first iteration of its breakfast menu , along with the company 's " Specialty Sandwich " product line , in a 1978 menu expansion . The products were some of the first designed by a fast food restaurant chain that were intended to capture the adult market , members of which would be willing to spend more on a higher @-@ quality product . The expanded Burger King menu was part of a plan by then @-@ company president Donald N. Smith to reach the broadest possible demographic market to better compete with McDonald 's , and to fend off then newcomer Wendy 's , who had a growing market share . The plan was successful : the company 's sales increased by 15 percent . Despite another menu expansion in 1985 , the company 's market gains diminished due to neglect of the brand at the hands of then @-@ parent Pillsbury and its successors , Grand Metropolitan and Diageo . When the company was sold to a group led by TPG Capital in 2004 , the trend of targeting an expanded audience was renewed under a plan by its then @-@ CEO Brad Blum . During Blum 's tenure , the company added several products that featured higher @-@ quality ingredients and other menu fare that again attempted to appeal to the adult palate and demographic . As in the past , not all of these products met corporate sales expectations , or in the case of several of its larger offerings , resulted in negative publicity due to nutritional concerns . With the purchase of the company in 2010 by 3G Capital , the company again began another revamp of its product line by phasing out some products , introducing new ones and redesigning others including its flagship Whopper sandwich . 
