Hot Dog: Franchising With Technology

Baseline:

Johnny’s Lunch is on a roll with a combo of good food at reasonable prices, great service and the right technology.

20 years before McDonald’s golden arches began dotting the American landscape, Johnny Colera slathered a hot dog with his secret chili sauce and sold it for 10 cents at his lunch counter in Jamestown, N.Y. It was 1936, in the midst of the Great Depression, and Johnny’s Lunch was open for business.

By the time McDonald’s opened in 1955 under similarly humble circumstances, Johnny’s Lunch was a Jamestown institution, serving up Johnny’s Hots hot dogs and the usual fast-food fare of burgers, fries, onion rings and shakes. The company, founded by Colera and his wife Minnie, built a strong following with its commitment to low prices, good food and terrific service, along with some unique offerings such as homemade rice pudding. All the while, Colera and his successors watched McDonald’s continually expand and become a household name, with more than $22 billion in annual sales.

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