Post by Guy Barry on Jul 16, 2024 12:02:07 GMT
After hearing an advertisement for McDonald's to mark their 50th anniversary, I realized that I may in fact know something of interest that literally no one else does, viz: I ate in the first-ever McDonald's to open in the UK. I was eight years old and the only person with me was my mother, who denies all knowledge of it, as she hates McDonald's and will have nothing to do with it. But I assure you that she was there, and furthermore that she thought it was absolutely amazing at the time!
It opened in Powis Street, Woolwich, south-east London in October 1974, and by coincidence it was also their 3000th restaurant worldwide. There was literally nothing else like it in the country at the time. We had Wimpy bars that served burgers and chips and other American-style fare, but they were table service only like other restaurants. The idea of queuing up and getting your food at the counter was completely alien.
I've found an article about it here which is quite entertaining. Some extracts:
Inside the décor was a pretty grim brown and cream colour with some seriously horrible massive photo portraits on the walls. But the tasty hamburger, which was "made with 100% pure beef, topped with pickles, mustard and ketchup, served in a freshly toasted bun" cost just 15p.
A cheeseburger – they just added some "mellow cheese" – was 21p while for those with a "big appetite" you could pick up a Quarter Pounder with Cheese or a Big Mac for 45p. Ian worked at the first store in Woolwich and was very candid with MyLondon about his experiences.
[...]
"It was a very different place then. It wasn't quite the arse end of London but it was pretty average. In fact that's why McDonald's chose it because they wanted the most average place in the UK as a test to see how well it would do. [...] Woolwich was a bit like a dystopian apocalyptic nightmare back then. There was a pub, a department store, quite a grotty market and a station and that was about it. [...] It wasn't quite as hygienic as it is now. There was this backyard where everyone would go out to smoke and it was about four inches deep in slurry of various kinds. When people came back in they'd tread it in with their feet. They'd get you to go and clean the toilets and then put you straight to work on the grill."
A cheeseburger – they just added some "mellow cheese" – was 21p while for those with a "big appetite" you could pick up a Quarter Pounder with Cheese or a Big Mac for 45p. Ian worked at the first store in Woolwich and was very candid with MyLondon about his experiences.
[...]
"It was a very different place then. It wasn't quite the arse end of London but it was pretty average. In fact that's why McDonald's chose it because they wanted the most average place in the UK as a test to see how well it would do. [...] Woolwich was a bit like a dystopian apocalyptic nightmare back then. There was a pub, a department store, quite a grotty market and a station and that was about it. [...] It wasn't quite as hygienic as it is now. There was this backyard where everyone would go out to smoke and it was about four inches deep in slurry of various kinds. When people came back in they'd tread it in with their feet. They'd get you to go and clean the toilets and then put you straight to work on the grill."
Sounds about right! But what I really want to know is when they stopped selling "Triple Thick Shakes". They were 44p and at eight years old I'd tasted nothing else like that on earth...
