10 Popular Restaurant Chains That Looked Way Different When They First Opened

Before they became instantly recognizable globally, with thousands of locations, many of the most popular restaurant chains had humble beginnings that looked completely different. From modest roadside food stands to kitschy burger joints that looked like something out of a fairytale, some of your favorite fast food chains appeared (and operated) very differently from how they do now.

Whether it's Starbucks' first location, which didn't even sell hot coffee (true story), the motel restaurant that spawned KFC, or the hacienda-style taco stand that started Taco Bell, these nostalgic photos show just how much can change over a couple of decades in the world of fast food, while staying true the essence of the original — from branding and logos to restaurant design.

KFC, initially known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, was founded by American businessman Harland David Sanders, who began selling fried chicken from Sanders Cafe — a roadside restaurant attached to a motel — in Corbin, Kentucky, during the Great Depression. While KFC earned the lowest spot in our ranking of popular chicken chains, at the time, the Colonel's proprietary secret blend of 11 herbs and spices was a hit, leading to widespread franchising of the chain. While KFC looks very different today, you can still visit the original Sanders Cafe, which has been turned into a museum, with a modern KFC restaurant next door — just in case you get hungry after stepping back in time.

When brothers Mac and Dick McDonald started McDonald's in 1940 in San Bernardino, California, the barbecue restaurant didn't serve hamburgers, let alone feature its iconic golden arches. In 1948, the McDonald brothers revamped it into a milkshake and hamburger stand that offered their Speedee Service System for quick and efficient food production. At this time, they commissioned an architect to create an eye-catching design for the restaurant, and the red, white, and golden arch branding was born. Now with over 36,000 locations worldwide, the golden arches have become synonymous with McDonald's. 

A&W, the American fast food chain that's more popular in Canada, is easily recognizable by its orange and brown branding and adorable bear mascot, Rooty. However, the restaurant started in 1919 as a modest root beer stand in Lodi, California. In 1922, founder Roy W. Allen teamed up with his root beer stand employee, Frank Wright, and A&W was born, becoming the first franchised fast food restaurant in the United States. Those initials? They're from each founder, Allen and Wright.

Long before Burger King coined its iconic red and yellow logo designed to make you hungry, it was known as Insta-Burger King — a burger restaurant in Jacksonville, Florida, founded in 1952 by Matthew Burns and his son-in-law, Keith Cramer. In 1954, the name was simplified to Burger King. However, it wasn't until the following year that they introduced the Burger King character — a cheerful royal perched atop a burger throne and holding a large drink. The chain, known for its chargrilled hamburgers, such as the Whopper, now has about 19,000 locations worldwide.

Wendy's founder, Dave Thomas, opened the first Wendy's restaurant in Columbus, Ohio, in 1969. The restaurant featured a green, red, and white exterior with a large sign in old-timey font advertising Wendy's "old-fashioned hamburgers." While the fast food chain, known for its square burger patties and delicious Frosty, has since dropped the phrase "old-fashioned," a version of the iconic red and white branding, featuring a logo of a red-headed girl with pigtails based on Thomas's real-life granddaughter, Wendy, remains.

While Starbucks is now known for its limited-time-only holiday specialty drink menu and less popular experiments, such as its discontinued beer-inspired latte, the chain once had a single location across the street from Seattle's Pike Place Market that only sold coffee beans, spices, and teas. Founded in 1971, Starbucks did not begin selling beverages until 1987. It was around this time that Starbucks transitioned from its original brown branding to its iconic green color scheme and began expanding nationally and internationally.

If you've ever wondered where White Castle got its name, it's because the original locations of the burger chain looked like actual castles. The first location, opened in 1921 by Billy Ingram in Wichita, Kansas, consisted of a small building made of painted white brick that featured a small turret and a black-painted sign advertising its now-famous five-cent mini-hamburgers ("sliders"). While White Castle may look different now, the chain has retained the white exterior and the parapets of the original location in its branding.

While the first official Chick-fil-A opened in Atlanta's Greenbriar Mall in 1967, the fast food chicken chain can be traced back to 1946, when founder Truett Cathy opened his 24-hour diner in Hapeville, Georgia. The white brick building where he first started to serve the Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich was so small that he named the business "The Dwarf House." While Chick-fil-A has since expanded to more than 3,000 locations across the United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada, a version of the fast food chain's signature cursive font, featuring a chicken above the "C", has been part of its look since its inception.

If you grew up going to Pizza Hut, you probably remember its buildings with their unmistakable red roof. However, back when Pizza Hut first opened its doors in 1958, the first restaurant was located in a simple red brick building with a small black and white sign in Wichita, Kansas. The red roof (which has since been adapted and simplified into overall red and white branding) didn't appear until 1969.

While Taco Bell flopped in Mexico, the chain's pink and purple bell logo has long been part of the American fast food landscape for as long as we can remember. However, when the restaurant first opened in Downey, California, in 1962, it was a 400-square-foot "mission style" walk-up restaurant with a bright multicolored sign and a large yellow bell with a sombrero on top.