One month later, the three-day Grand Opening took place with even more fun to offer. Each day had a special theme with July 23 being a true celebration, July 24 offering Awareness Day to highlight important nonprofits such as FFA and Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC), which help support families staying close to their children while they receive medical care. July 25 was dubbed Hero Day that put the spotlight on first responders and public safety in general.

Familiar characters were present at both events. The Hamburglar, Birdie the Early Bird, and Grimace posed for photos with youngsters and made their way through the long line of hungry diners to bring smiles to their faces before the doors were opened for ordering.

The newest location is at the Crossroads business area, which is owned by the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians. For the first day launch, the restaurant reached out to Soboba to request bird singers, a blessing and Tribal Council remarks. They worked closely with Joe Ontiveros and Jessica Valdez from Soboba’s Cultural Resource Department. The Andreas family offered some Cahuilla bird songs and was joined by several dancers. A blessing was given by Soboba’s Tribal Executive Officer Steven Estrada.

Estrada then welcomed everyone and Tribal Council members Daniel Valdez, Monica Herrera and Adona Salgado were introduced. Estrada said it is nice to have a major brand operation be the first to move into the Crossroads space.

“It’s good to see long lines because it just shows the need and use for the community overall,” Estrada said. “Tribal Council had some input on the design so it complimented Crossroads overall.”

He said the June 23 event was not just a ribbon-cutting ceremony but evidence of the Tribe’s resiliency, self-determination, and economic growth. Several years ago, Soboba purchased the off-reservation property, master planned it and put in all the infrastructure.

“We are here today welcoming a new business within the valley and into the community,” Estrada said. “They are not just providing economic support for the Tribe but economic support for the community as well by way of job opportunities, all contributing to the local economy so thank you to all who came out today.”

June’s opening found many attendees of the ribbon-cutting ceremony and introductions using umbrellas to shade themselves from the heat. But inside, the griddles stayed hot all day long as eager guests ordered their famous cheeseburgers at the special price of 80 cents each. It’s no surprise that they sold nearly 2,000 of them, while serving more than 1,200 customers on that first day.

Franchise owners/operators Randell Baremor and Ramin Ghaffari were recognized and applauded by Hemet/San Jacinto Chamber of Commerce and Greater San Jacinto Valley Chamber of Commerce representatives for their investment in the local community.

Robert Graves, Director of Operations for a franchise group, spoke on behalf of business partners Baremor and Ghaffari.

“We are truly honored to be part of the San Jacinto community,” he said. “From the beginning, our goal has been to be more than just a place where families can come together and share a meal. We strive to be a trusted neighbor, a dependable employer, and a positive force that continues to grow. We believe that a strong business helps build strong communities; that means creating meaningful jobs, providing opportunities for personal and professional development, and supporting our communities.”

San Jacinto City Council members Alonso Ledezma, Valerie Vandever and Mayor Pro Tem Clarisa Sanchez were introduced by Mayor Crystal Ruiz, who presented the franchisees with a certificate of recognition. It read, in part, “The City of San Jacinto welcomes you and recognizes the positive contributions your business will bring to our community. We look forward to your ongoing partnership in serving the residents of San Jacinto for years to come.”

Ruiz said, “One of my first jobs was at McDonald’s; they’re like our family. We welcome the partnership between McDonald’s and Soboba, who are the cornerstone of our city.”

Hemet Mayor Linda Krupa presented a certificate on behalf of the Hemet City Council to recognize their investment in the valley and wished them “continued prosperity and success in serving the residents and visitors of the valley.”

The office of 5^th District Supervisor Yxstian Gutierrez recognized McDonald’s commitment and contribution to economic growth in Riverside County.

“We are grateful for the warm welcome we’ve received and look forward to serving our community with our delicious food for many years to come,” ARCS Training/HR Manager Elaine Contreras said.

Leon Clausen of San Jacinto arrived at midnight on June 23 driving his 1964 Malibu SS.

“I had this wild idea to do something spectacular like I was 17 again,” said the 42-year-old classic car enthusiast. I wanted to be the first person in the drive-thru of the new McDonald’s.”

Clausen thought driving his classic car to this classic restaurant would be very fitting. He added that security did a great job throughout the night as others arrived to be near the front of the line when the great deals started being served at noon.

For his efforts, Clausen was presented with a McDonald’s merchandise gift basket by San Jacinto Mayor Crystal Ruiz at the drive-thru window.

On July 23–25 from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day, there were prizes, games and special offers to celebrate the official grand opening. All those involved looked forward to sharing great food and great memories with the community.

“On behalf of McDonald’s, ARCS Restaurant Management, we would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to our incredible Team. It truly takes a village, and their dedication, hard work, and passion made our Soft Grand Opening a tremendous success,” Contreras said. “Most of all we would like to say thank you to the mayors, City Council members, Chambers of Commerce, Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians and Soboba Tribal Council, and the entire community for their support.”

Franchisee Baremor said things are going smoothly and they have been busier than expected. Currently, there are about 55 employees working at the 24/7 site. No stranger to McDonald’s, Baremor has been involved with the fast-food chain since high school and worked for another franchisee in Orange County for 30 years. He partnered with Ghaffari 15 years ago and they now operate 18 stores.

“It’s important to us to fit in with the community,” he said. “We don’t want this to be just another McDonald’s. Wherever we go, we have to connect to the community and that includes Soboba. We have been so happy with the way things have been going because we want this to be a destination McDonald’s.”

Baremor said that everything the store does as far as special events is up to the franchisees with the only thing controlled by McDonald’s being the menu. But they don’t work alone, they have an extensive team of about 20 that helps with everything from training to technology and marketing.

“We don’t just hire workers for the restaurant, but we hire those that are skilled in other areas, too,” he said. “It’s about giving employees the opportunity to grow with us.”

It’s not all about revenue to Baremor either. He said he would consider success to be accepted by the community who allow his restaurant to become part of their day.

Looking to be a hub where community members can connect, celebrate and enjoy, the newest San Jacinto McDonald’s is at 528 W. Ramona Expressway. For details, www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us/location/ca/san-jacinto/528-w-ramona-expressway/41045.html.

For more information about all local McDonald’s special events and promotions, please visit #arcsmcds on Instagram.

The post Soboba welcomes McDonald’s to the area appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

McDonald’s pulled Quarter Pounders from one-fifth of its U.S. stores Tuesday as a result of the outbreak, which the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said had sickened at least 49 people in 10 states. One person died and 10 were hospitalized, according to the CDC.

A preliminary investigation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration suggested fresh slivered onions that are served raw on Quarter Pounder hamburgers were a likely source of the contamination.

McDonald’s said it was searching for a new regional supplier for fresh onions. In the meantime, Quarter Pounders were removed from menus in the impacted states as well as portions of other states.

McDonald’s said it has worked closely with federal food safety regulators since late last week, when it was alerted to the potential outbreak. The company said the scope of the problem and the popularity of its products have complicated efforts to identify the contamination source.

McDonald’s has more than 14,000 U.S. stores and serves 1 million Quarter Pounders every two weeks in the affected area.

McDonald’s is known for its stringent food safety guidelines and protocols, said Chris Gaulke, a professor of food and beverage management at Cornell University’s Nolan School of Hotel Administration. The company said Wednesday that the supplier regularly tested its onions for E. coli, for example.

“Given the volume of food that they go through, how infrequently this happens to McDonald’s is a testament to the effort that they take,” Gaulke said.

But some experts questioned why McDonald’s simply stopped selling one sandwich and didn’t close restaurants for further investigation.

“Good practice would have been to close all the restaurants,” Bill Marler, a Seattle lawyer who specializes in food safety cases, said. “Until we know definitively what the product was that made people sick, consumers should be aware.”

Marler said cross-contamination remains a potential possibility at the affected restaurants until they are thoroughly cleaned.

Asked why it didn’t close any stores, McDonald’s said nothing in the government’s investigation indicated there were issues with its food preparation practices. In an interview on the “Today” show Wednesday, McDonald’s U.S. President Joe Erlinger also said it’s likely that whatever product was contaminated has already passed through the company’s supply chain.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the outbreak late Tuesday. It said infections were reported between Sept. 27 and Oct. 11 in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oregon, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

State and local public health officials were interviewing people about the foods they ate in the week before they got sick. Of the 18 people interviewed as of Tuesday, all reported eating at McDonald’s, and 16 people reported eating a beef hamburger. Twelve reported eating a Quarter Pounder.

McDonald’s said it’s unlikely the beef in the Quarter Pounder was the source, since it comes from multiple suppliers and is cooked at a high enough temperature to kill E. coli.

McDonald’s said its initial findings suggest that some of the reported illnesses were linked to onions from a single supplier, which the company didn’t name. McDonald’s said the onions are cleaned and sliced by the supplier and then packaged for use on individual Quarter Pounders.

The incubation period for E. coli is only a couple of days, so illness would be quickly apparent to anyone affected, said Donald Schaffner, a food safety expert at Rutgers University. “If you ate these burgers in September and now it’s the middle of October and you didn’t get sick, you’re probably OK,” he said.

E. coli bacteria are harbored in the guts of animals and found in the environment. Infections can cause severe illness, including fever, stomach cramps and bloody diarrhea. People who develop symptoms of E. coli poisoning should seek health care immediately and tell the provider what they ate.

The type of bacteria implicated in the McDonald’s food causes about 74,000 infections in the U.S. annually, leading to more than 2,000 hospitalizations and 61 deaths each year, according to the CDC. In general, E. coli infections were lower in 2023 than in recent years and cases of severe kidney injury caused by the bacteria remained stable, according to latest federal data.

Outbreaks at restaurant chains are rare, but they do happen.

In 2020, Chipotle agreed to pay a record $25 million fine to resolve criminal charges that it served tainted food that sickened more than 1,100 people with E. coli between 2015 and 2018. In that case, poor safety practices, such as not keeping food at proper temperatures to prevent pathogen growth, were to blame.

In 2006, Taco Bell ordered the removal of green onions from its restaurants nationwide after samples taken by investigators appeared to contain a harsh strain of E. coli. The outbreak sickened at least 71 people.

“The worst thing you can have at a restaurant is a food safety problem. It’s the equivalent of an airline losing the plane,” said Aaron Allen, a restaurant consultant and founder of Aaron Allen and Associates.

But Allen said McDonald’s has enough experience and safety protocols in place that it won’t suffer long-term damage from the outbreak.

“No one would be better equipped to mitigate and respond to this than McDonald’s,” he said.

McDonald’s shares fell 4.7% in late trading Wednesday.

The post McDonald’s tries to reassure customers after deadly E. coli outbreak appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

“I was teaching at Purdue University in Indiana,” recalls food historian George Geary, author of Made in California. “One day I was driving down the highway and I noticed all of the fast-food places that were off the next off-ramp. There were about 14 listed, and I realized most of those were from California!”

Why Los Angeles in particular and California in general became fast foods’ greatest exporter is a multi-faceted question. According to Adam Chandler, author of Drive-Thru Dreams, part of the answer is simple — we are just pretty rad.

“California, it’s always had this mystique around its effortlessness and coolness, and some of that has to do with the weather,” he says. “[It’s ] looser in terms of conventions, in terms of dress, in terms of conversation, in terms of the way of life.”

And nowhere is cooler than Los Angeles. The greater L.A. area alone is the birthplace of many chains: In-N-Out, Taco Bell, Fatburger, Panda Express, Hot Dog on a Stick, Orange Julius, Bob’s Big Boy, Fosters Freeze, Original Tommy’s, The Blimp (now Carl’s Jr.), Wienerschnitzel, Wahoo’s Fish Tacos, and Pioneer Chicken. Farther afield is San Bernardino’s McDonald’s, San Diego’s Jack-in-the-Box, and Yermo’s Del Taco.

How did it happen?

But we cannot claim to be the founders of fast foods as a concept. According to John A. Jakle and Keith A. Sculle, authors of Fast Food: Roadside Restaurants in the Automobile Age, fast service food has been around worldwide since the Industrial Revolution in the form of coffee shops and oyster houses.

During the 1880s, soda fountains and drug store counters across the country began serving quick soup and sandwich meals along with popular novelty drinks and ice creams. Then there were inexpensive fair foods — the hot dogs and hamburgers served at county fairs and amusement destinations like Coney Island and the Santa Monica Pier.

Chandler argues that the first true modern fast food restaurant was White Castle, which opened in Wichita, Kansas in 1921. “1920 was famously the first year that more people showed up on the U.S. Census as living in cities instead of outside of cities,” he says. “People were congregating in urban centers and working at factories, and a lot of this had to do with electricity and just general movements of populations. And so, people needed to eat something.
They were working in factories every day and they wanted something that was quick and cheap.”

Growing road system

As more and more people drove and commuted to work, those tried and true fair food favorites began to be sold in roadside shacks along America’s burgeoning highway system.

In Southern California, these included the Rite Spot in Pasadena, where owner Lionel Sternberger is said to have invented the cheeseburger in the 1920s. Southern California, with its perfect weather, spread out populace, and pioneering spirit was the ideal place for small business owners to open their very own “road food” stands.

“Most stands were seasonal since, until the late 1920s, motoring was primarily a warm-weather proposition. Only in mild-winter states like California and Florida did stands operate all year,” Jakle and Sculle write.

“Highway selling was ideal for entrepreneurs willing to experiment with limited capital. The roadside stand … was hailed as one of America’s last ‘frontiers’ for independent businessmen. Most stands were built by their owners, the capital invested largely that of ‘sweat equity.’”

Driving change

And then there was SoCal’s early embrace of car culture, and the popularity of drive-ins, staffed with pretty carhops, and high fat, highly caloric comfort food at an affordable price.

“In the 1930s in Southern California there developed a remarkable phenomenon in the food service business,” Ray Kroc, who took McDonald’s to the stratosphere, recalled, according to Fast Food: Roadside Restaurants in the Automobile Age. “It was the drive-in restaurant, a product of the Great Depression’s crimp on the free-wheeling lifestyle that had grown up around movie-happy Hollywood. Drive-ins sprouted in city parking lots and spread along canyon drives. Barbeque, beef, pork and chicken were the typical menu mainstays, but there was an endless variety in approaches as feverish operators hustled to outdo each other.”

Southern California’s unique lifestyle also contributed to the need for fast food. “The building of the suburbs is huge, the growth of the highways, and that introduces all these other facets — the rise of two income households, more women are joining the workforce,” Chandler says.

“So, the erosion of traditional gender roles when it comes to making dinner, the rise of commutes, make it so that you’re kind of eating on the go and there’s more distance between work and home. So, a lot of these things create a need for someone to step into the gap here and fast food places do that.”

Dreamy entrepreneurs of all stripes flourished in this heady environment, where taking risks, whether it involved the space race or mom and pop startups, was encouraged. “Southern California is a place where people innovate,” says food writer Katherine Spiers, of How to Eat L.A.

The innovations in fast food came fast and furious in the post-World War II era. The McDonald brothers pioneered a new kind of assembly line food production, which they coined their “speedee service system,” maximizing efficiency and convenience. Every menu item was standardized — only two pickles per hamburger, no exceptions. “If we gave people choice, there would be chaos,” Dick McDonald explained, per McDonalds: Behind the Arches.

In-N-Out Burger

Out in Baldwin Park, Esther and Harry Snyder opened the first In-N-Out Burger in 1948, which along with their contemporary Jack in the Box (founded in San Diego in 1951) revolutionized the drive-thru system we now see as the fast food norm.

“What was unique about them both is that when they started, they both were drive through only,” Chandler says. “So, you didn’t get out of your car and walk up to a window, you just drove through. And In-N-Out in particular had a two-way speaker that was built by Harry Snyder in his garage, which is its own kind of classic tinkering-in-your-garage American innovation story that we tend to love.”

Fatburger

Los Angeles was also home to a particular brand of enterprising visionaries, who may not have been given the capital, or chance, to flourish in other parts of the country due to racism and sexism. In 1948, Lovie Yancey and a partner opened Mr. Fatburger on Western Avenue. Initially a three-seat counter made of scrap metal, Yancey soon bought out her partner, changed the name to Fatburger and worked tirelessly to make it a smashing success.

“She apparently really loved working in the restaurant,” Spiers says. “And she would work 20-hour days and sleep under the counter sometimes. She kept having people knocking on the door after they were closed at a reasonable hour. So, she was like, ‘well, I want to feed people. Guess I’m staying open late’.”

Yancey also tapped into post-war America’s obsession with large portions of food for a low price. “There was a real efficiency in American culture and in American cuisine at the time, the idea that you could just have an enormous burger and that would be your meal was exciting,” Chandler says.

“It had everything you needed kind of fit into this space age, high industry mood of the time, spirit of the time. And so Fat Burger was a big burger. It still is a big burger. And people were interested in something that was a challenge to eat — something you needed two hands to eat — that was appealing.”

Taco Bell

Fast food pioneers also often appropriated the foods of the numerous diverse cultures that called Southern California home. In San Bernardino, a young entrepreneur named Glen Bell fell in love with the tacos served at the Mexican American owned Mitla Café. In 1962, he opened the first Taco Bell in Downey.

“Glen Bell picks up this bit of cuisine and he is interested in it and he just kind of makes it his own mission to present it to the masses,” Chandler says. “And the taco was an exotic thing back then, and now it’s the most normative dining thing next to the hamburger you can have in America.”

As Patt Morrison of the Los Angeles Times notes, there was also a spirit of collaboration among many of SoCal’s fast-food titans, who were more than happy to share their innovations with other upstart entrepreneurs. “There was a fraternity of us, and every one of us saw the McDonald’s in San Bernardino and basically copied it after the boys gave us a tour,” James Collins, head of Collins Food International (KFC) remembered, per Morrison. “We became good friends, and we all took our lessons from the McDonald brothers.”

Dump that guilt

By the 1960s and ‘70s SoCal-born fast food was expanding, spreading a unique brand of American culture throughout the globe. Today there are over 38,000 McDonald’s, 8,500 Taco Bells, and 3,100 Carl’s Jrs. And while some Californians may feel guilty for introducing the oft-maligned, problematic fast food universe to the world, Geary has come to terms with his love of a quick meal.

While attending a high-end cuisine conference in 1995, he found himself at a dinner at a grand Philadelphia train station. But there was one problem, the caterers had messed up, and there was no food. “I was sitting with Julia Child and she’s like, ‘we’re hungry!’ Because it was a train station, they had a McDonald’s. So, a few of us got up and I thought, ‘okay, I guess it’s okay to eat the fast food in front of these people.’ And then Julia Child ate French fries,” Geary recalls. “And I thought, ‘you know what? If she can do it, I can do it.’”

So next time you’ve got a hankering for a good ole processed burger with fries, instead of guilt, feel a sense of hometown pride. “We wouldn’t have the American fast food culture that we have today without Southern California,” Chandler says.

“I think if you created a map and looked at all the chains that came out of a 45 mile radius in Southern California and stacked it up to other businesses elsewhere, not just in fast food, but in any industry, you’d be hard pressed to find a lot of things that really compete in terms of name recognition and endurance and excitement than what’s grown out of Southern California’s fast food boom.”

The post How Did Southern California Become The Fast Food Epicenter Of The World? appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.