Sandy's
Encyclopedia
Sandy's was the name of a chain of fast-food restaurants begun in 1956 by four business men from Kewanee, Illinois
: Gus "Brick" Lundberg
, Robert C. Wenger, Paul White and W. K. Davidson.
franchises outside California
. Ray Kroc
had just begun selling McDonald's
franchises outside the McDonald brothers' home state of California and the four friends partnered to buy the right to open McDonald’s restaurants in central Illinois
. In June 1956, they opened their first restaurant in Urbana, Illinois
, only the third McDonald’s restaurant to open outside of California. The Urbana store proved popular with students, professionals and young families at the University of Illinois
, and did so well that the group decided to open additional stores in Decatur
and Peoria, Illinois
.
Ray Kroc, however, notified them that Peoria and Decatur were not included in the central Illinois territory, and furthermore that changes to the terms of the franchise
meant they would owe a higher percentage of their profits to McDonald's. Having invested heavily in the Peoria location, including erecting the building, Lundberg and his partners decided instead to open their own restaurant, and settled on the name "Sandy's." The chain adopted a Scottish
-based theme to combat the Scottish
-rooted "McDonald's", even though the latter wasn't based on a cultural theme of any kind. Lundberg was named president.
, a 20¢ milkshake
and a 10¢ bag of French fries
, much like McDonald's. However, none of the four founders were interested in expanding their local chain. Lundberg, in particular, viewed the enterprise as a chance to build a "people-oriented organization whose members worked hard but also had some fun while earning a legitimate profit."
Sandy's was different in a number of ways from other fast food
chains of the time:
Ray Kroc did not sit idly by. He filed an ongoing series of lawsuits which finally ended with an out-of-court settlement in 1965. Despite this distraction, Sandy’s grew from just 7 stores in Illinois in 1959 to 121 in five states in 1966. In 1961, insurance man Jack Laughery
was so impressed with Lundberg and his business approach that he left a successful practice to join Sandy's, becoming president in 1967.
Bill Schelly
in his memoir Sense of Wonder reminisced about visits in the mid-1960s when in downtown Pittsburgh he made to "a handy hamburger joint named Sandy's (a McDonald's imitator) for greasy cheeseburgers, mounds of salty fries and massive sodas".
In 2009 Schelly posted further comments on a Sandy's fan website "The Sandy's we went to was an inner-city variety, sandwiched (so to speak) between two other stores, it was small and if it had tables at all, these were circular with small diameters, like 18 ". The decor, as I recall, had a lot of orange & yellow, but my memory could be playing tricks on me. We'd buy 3 burgers and 2 orders of fries a piece, because the burgers weren't very big, and huge Cokes, and take all the food back to my Dad's office downtown..."
chain in the Southern U.S. (founded by Wilbur Hardee) had money and was looking to expand its operations. The solution was a merger. On November 30, 1971, a Hardee's purchase of all of Sandy's stock was announced, and Sandy's plaid beret
s were soon to be seen no more. Sandy's had expanded to Belgium and Canada before its dismantling.
Originally, Sandy's was only to merge with Hardees and maintain its own identity, but in 1973, ninety percent of the locations agreed to switch to Hardee's; the other ten percent remained Sandy's. In 1979, the last Sandy's location in Muscatine, Iowa
became a Hardee's. Other locations simply changed their name to avoid infringing on the Sandy's name. These locations included Zandy's in Great Falls, Montana
, Sandie's in Billings, Montana
, and Bucky's in Lawrence, Kansas
but only Zandy's continues operations . Bucky's closed as of December 14, 2007.
Kewanee, Illinois
Kewanee is a city in Henry County, Illinois, United States. "Kewanee" is the Winnebago word for prairie chicken, which lekked there. The population was 12,916 at the 2010 census, down from 12,944 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
: Gus "Brick" Lundberg
Gust E. Lundberg
Gust E. "Brick" Lundberg was the founder of the Sandy's fast-food restaurant chain and Laureate of the American National Business Hall of Fame.-Background:...
, Robert C. Wenger, Paul White and W. K. Davidson.
Beginnings
In 1956, the four men set out to start one of the first McDonald'sMcDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
franchises outside California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Ray Kroc
Ray Kroc
Raymond Albert "Ray" Kroc was an American fast food businessman who joined McDonald's in 1954 and built it into the most successful fast food operation in the world. Kroc was included in Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century, and amassed a fortune during his lifetime...
had just begun selling McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
franchises outside the McDonald brothers' home state of California and the four friends partnered to buy the right to open McDonald’s restaurants in central Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. In June 1956, they opened their first restaurant in Urbana, Illinois
Urbana, Illinois
Urbana is the county seat of Champaign County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 41,250. Urbana is the tenth-most populous city in Illinois outside of the Chicago metropolitan area....
, only the third McDonald’s restaurant to open outside of California. The Urbana store proved popular with students, professionals and young families at the University of Illinois
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
, and did so well that the group decided to open additional stores in Decatur
Decatur, Illinois
Decatur is the largest city and the county seat of Macon County in the U.S. state of Illinois. The city, sometimes called "the Soybean Capital of the World", was founded in 1823 and is located along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in Central Illinois. In 2000 the city population was 81,500,...
and Peoria, Illinois
Peoria, Illinois
Peoria is the largest city on the Illinois River and the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, in the United States. It is named after the Peoria tribe. As of the 2010 census, the city was the seventh-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 115,007, and is the third-most populated...
.
Ray Kroc, however, notified them that Peoria and Decatur were not included in the central Illinois territory, and furthermore that changes to the terms of the franchise
Franchising
Franchising is the practice of using another firm's successful business model. The word 'franchise' is of anglo-French derivation - from franc- meaning free, and is used both as a noun and as a verb....
meant they would owe a higher percentage of their profits to McDonald's. Having invested heavily in the Peoria location, including erecting the building, Lundberg and his partners decided instead to open their own restaurant, and settled on the name "Sandy's." The chain adopted a Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
-based theme to combat the Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
-rooted "McDonald's", even though the latter wasn't based on a cultural theme of any kind. Lundberg was named president.
Early Success
The menu of the first Sandy's restaurant included a 15¢ hamburgerHamburger
A hamburger is a sandwich consisting of a cooked patty of ground meat usually placed inside a sliced bread roll...
, a 20¢ milkshake
Milkshake
A milkshake is a sweet, cold beverage which is made from milk, ice cream or iced milk, and flavorings or sweeteners such as fruit syrup or chocolate sauce....
and a 10¢ bag of French fries
French fries
French fries , chips, fries, or French-fried potatoes are strips of deep-fried potato. North Americans tend to refer to any pieces of deep-fried potatoes as fries or French fries, while in the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand, long, thinly cut slices of deep-fried potatoes are...
, much like McDonald's. However, none of the four founders were interested in expanding their local chain. Lundberg, in particular, viewed the enterprise as a chance to build a "people-oriented organization whose members worked hard but also had some fun while earning a legitimate profit."
Sandy's was different in a number of ways from other fast food
Fast food
Fast food is the term given to food that can be prepared and served very quickly. While any meal with low preparation time can be considered to be fast food, typically the term refers to food sold in a restaurant or store with preheated or precooked ingredients, and served to the customer in a...
chains of the time:
- Operators of most restaurants owned their stores and did not lease from the corporation.
- Operators were not required to buy supplies from the corporation, instead being permitted to "shop around" as long as the supplies met company standards.
- Lundberg visited every store periodically and became personally acquainted with every employee.
Ray Kroc did not sit idly by. He filed an ongoing series of lawsuits which finally ended with an out-of-court settlement in 1965. Despite this distraction, Sandy’s grew from just 7 stores in Illinois in 1959 to 121 in five states in 1966. In 1961, insurance man Jack Laughery
Jack Laughery
Jack Laughery was an American restaurant investor and consultant, the former CEO and chairman of the Hardee's restaurant chain....
was so impressed with Lundberg and his business approach that he left a successful practice to join Sandy's, becoming president in 1967.
Bill Schelly
Bill Schelly
Bill Schelly is an author primarily known as a historian of cinema, comic books, and comics fandom. He is also a portrait and comic book artist....
in his memoir Sense of Wonder reminisced about visits in the mid-1960s when in downtown Pittsburgh he made to "a handy hamburger joint named Sandy's (a McDonald's imitator) for greasy cheeseburgers, mounds of salty fries and massive sodas".
In 2009 Schelly posted further comments on a Sandy's fan website "The Sandy's we went to was an inner-city variety, sandwiched (so to speak) between two other stores, it was small and if it had tables at all, these were circular with small diameters, like 18 ". The decor, as I recall, had a lot of orange & yellow, but my memory could be playing tricks on me. We'd buy 3 burgers and 2 orders of fries a piece, because the burgers weren't very big, and huge Cokes, and take all the food back to my Dad's office downtown..."
Takeover by Hardee's
By the end of the 1960s Sandy's, though still successful, was short of cash, a major handicap with the pricey new television advertising being actively employed by its competitors. Meanwhile, the successful Hardee'sHardee's
Hardee's is a restaurant chain, located mostly in the Southeast and Midwestern regions of the United States. It has evolved through several corporate ownerships since its establishment in 1960. It is currently owned and operated by CKE Restaurants. Along with its sibling restaurant chain, Carl's...
chain in the Southern U.S. (founded by Wilbur Hardee) had money and was looking to expand its operations. The solution was a merger. On November 30, 1971, a Hardee's purchase of all of Sandy's stock was announced, and Sandy's plaid beret
Beret
A beret is a soft, round, flat-crowned hat, designated a "cap", usually of woven, hand-knitted wool, crocheted cotton, or wool felt, or acrylic fiber....
s were soon to be seen no more. Sandy's had expanded to Belgium and Canada before its dismantling.
Originally, Sandy's was only to merge with Hardees and maintain its own identity, but in 1973, ninety percent of the locations agreed to switch to Hardee's; the other ten percent remained Sandy's. In 1979, the last Sandy's location in Muscatine, Iowa
Muscatine, Iowa
Muscatine is a city in Muscatine County, Iowa, United States. The population was 22,886 in the 2010 census, an increase from 22,697 in the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Muscatine County...
became a Hardee's. Other locations simply changed their name to avoid infringing on the Sandy's name. These locations included Zandy's in Great Falls, Montana
Great Falls, Montana
Great Falls is a city in and the county seat of Cascade County, Montana, United States. The population was 58,505 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Great Falls, Montana Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Cascade County...
, Sandie's in Billings, Montana
Billings, Montana
Billings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, and is the principal city of the Billings Metropolitan Area, the largest metropolitan area in over...
, and Bucky's in Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence is the sixth largest city in the U.S. State of Kansas and the county seat of Douglas County. Located in northeastern Kansas, Lawrence is the anchor city of the Lawrence, Kansas, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Douglas County...
but only Zandy's continues operations . Bucky's closed as of December 14, 2007.