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Wimpy vs. McDonald's: The Battle of the Burgers
’s: The Battle of the Burgers In the 1970s and 1980s Wimpy faced off with McDonald’s in a battle over what it meant to eat British. When the burger landed on the tables of the first Wimpy Bar in 1954, it marked a new era of modernity, global connection, and convenience for a Britain rebuilding from the austerity of the Second World War.
As the first modern fast food chain in Britain, pioneered by the German-Jewish owners of J. Lyons and Company, who purchased the rights from an American entrepreneur, the Wimpy Bars successfully opened their first location in Westminster in 1954. Keeping business simple and tapping into a developing cultural proclivity for affordable indulgences, a menu from the early 1970s presented three mains: the Shanty (a fish fillet), the Bender (a frankfurter-style coiled sausage), and the Wimpy – a ‘pure beef hamburger’ served with optional toppings of fried eggs, cheese, or salad, as well as specialities of apple pies and ice cream sundaes. Later in the decade, however, when press cuttings cited a 65 per cent price increase on cakes, tea, and ice cream, the novelty of what one contemporary reporter called the ‘watered-down taste of the great American burger’ waned.
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