Fast food was a different world back in the day, wasn’t it? No endorsements from rappers and athletes. It never broke the bank. The food tasted fresh. Miss those days? Here are some vintage photos of fast-food life between the 1950s and 1980s.
How Much?!?
Today, a burger at Burger King costs about four bucks. That’s a far cry from 18 cents; just a whopping 2,122% increase. (Even adjusting for inflation, that burger would be about $2 in today’s dollars.)
McDonald’s, circa 1970
A whole lotta ’70s is happening in this photo. The classic McDonald’s restaurant design, the Plymouth Barracuda parked out front, it’s all too cool.
Burger King Vibe Check, 1970s
If I were the titular Burger King, I would send people out in delivery cars that looked just like that taxi. And they would Dom Toretto-style spin to a screeching halt in front of your door when they delivered your food. But perhaps that is why I am not the Burger King.
Jack in the Box, early 1960s
My word, that thing is scary. Jack will not be speaking to me soon, actually, because I’m turning this car around. Nobody that looks like that is speaking to me today.
Taco Bell, circa 1960s
The first Taco Bell opened in Downey, California, in 1962, but Glen Bell’s first idea wasn’t a taco. He opened a hot dog stand called Bell’s Drive-In in San Bernardino, California, in 1948, but watched customers line up for a Mexican restaurant called the Mitla Cafe and its hard-shelled tacos across the street. Bell shadily got the recipe from the Mitla and opened Taco-Tia in late 1951 or early 1952.
Trending on Cheapism
Taco Bell Kitchen Workers in the 1960s
These two smiling lovebirds are cheesing it up in the Taco Bell kitchen. Better lock it down, y’all, the boss is gonna catch on to this in an instant.
You’ve Heard of the King, Now Meet the Chef
Burger Chef was born in the ’50s like the rest of the fast-food titans we know, but it ran into financial hardship and was sold to Hardee’s in 1982 (though some independent locations held on and the last one closed in 1996). Wouldn’t mind a 15 cent burger right about now.
Dave Thomas Eating a Hamburger, 1989
Here’s Dave Thomas of Wendy’s fame, storming through the kitchen. It’s encouraging that he likes Wendy’s burgers enough to eat them, but it’d be nice if he felt like plowing through that thing in the dining room rather than over the open grill where food is prepared.
Sign up for our newsletter
Burger Jail
Tough break, kid. What’d ya do to earn yourself a ticket to burger jail? Maybe this is a Chicago McDonald’s and he asked for ketchup. We’ll wait for you on the outside.
Burger Chef Employees, circa 1975
This Burger Chef (remember them?) photo from the mid-70s is bizarre for a lot of reasons, but mostly because it seems like something A.I. made. Super Shef? Funburger? Popper’s Treat with an incorrect apostrophe? What was going on over there at Burger Chef?
Pure Style at Burger King in the 1970s
If Burger King had any sense at all, they’d bring these uniforms back immediately. Long live the groovy vibes of the original Burger King fits.
Birthday City
No greater birthday existed in the 1970s than McDonald’s. Burgers, fries, and Cokes as far as the eye can see? For a kid, what greater Earthly pleasures are there?
Enchirito
Taco Bell has been cooking up nonsense in their kitchen since far before the invention of the Quesarito; take a gander at this Enchirito, which, as you may have guessed, combines an enchilada and a burrito, which was topped with black olives and served in a signature foil dish. And it’s just one of the many discontinued Taco Bell items we’d like to see back on the menu permanently (not just for limited-time reboots)
Big Value at Wendy’s in 1979
Look at those prices! 89 cent burgers? It’s not as good as what Burger King had going on in that first slide, but it’s still pretty good. And a Frosty and fries would only run you about a dollar? I’d like to go back to 1979, please.
Pizza Hut’s Salad Bar
For only a buck, you could hit this salad bar as many times as you wanted. And after spending that buck, you made sure you got your money’s worth. We’re talking three to five trips, minimum. For health, of course. Let’s treat this place like a Sizzler.
Giant Food
Obviously, this tray liner from 1975 is to be taken as exactly that: A tray liner from 1975. Unfortunately, I can’t do that, because I can’t stop thinking about what this photo is supposed to be. Why is the food so big? Why is it just sitting there in the middle of the parking lot? Is the food… the customers?
D’Lites of America
D’Lites was going for the healthy angle, but unfortunately there wasn’t a big TikTok world full of teenagers that all do exactly the same thing to spread the good word. Brave move to stick tuna salad up there on the sign as the big draw, though. Very brave move.
Stand Out, Above the Crowd
Boy, the way I would have stunted on everybody if I could have rolled into school with these bad boys. Incredibly cool merch, Burger King.
Taco Bell Menu in 1972 with Pronunciation Guide
It’s 1972 in this photo, not the stone age. If you really walk into a Taco Bell and you don’t know how to pronounce “taco,” then I don’t know how to help you.
Fast-Food Ashtrays from the ’70s and ’80s
Nothing like a smoke with your burger. Or soft serve. Or pizza. Or roast beef sandwich.
