The Classic Fish Sandwich - The Timeless McDonald's Fish Sandwich



The Filet-O-Fish might be one of the last things you think of when it comes to a fast food restaurant famous for its burgers, fries, and McNuggets. But there’s a valid reason McDonald’s keeps the fried fish sandwich on its menu, and it won’t be going away anytime soon. See what the first McDonald’s menu actually looked like.

To learn about the Filet-O-Fish’s place on the menu, we need to turn our attention to Lou Groen, who’d been kicked out of his home at age 17 and had spent decades working odd jobs before finally opening his own place and working his way to becoming president of Cincinnati Restaurant Group. That position helped him get in touch with Ray Kroc, who launched McDonald’s as a powerhouse corporation, and Kroc helped Groen open his own franchise. Groen opened the doors to the Cincinnati, Ohio area’s first McDonald’s in 1959.

Business seemed promising, but there was one major hurdle for Groen: For most restaurants, weekends, starting on Friday nights, bring the biggest profits. But in 1962, his McDonald’s was in an area that was 87 percent here Catholic in a time when most Catholics wouldn’t eat meat on Fridays, with the exception of fish. The burger-joint wasn’t concerned with providing the healthy options that they now have, so that meant that sales actually plummeted at what should have been their busiest time, due to the lack of veggie-friendly options. See how the McDonald’s menu has changed since the year you were born.

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