Would-be imitators

Four months in, a turnaround occurred for no particular reason. Profits soon soared to $100,000 a year. The quality of food was not the main draw except, perhaps, for the crispy fresh potatoes.

Copycats arrived to study the operation in action. The details the imitators couldn't see, Dick and Mac shared cheerily. In 1952, the brothers ran an ad announcing that their "revolutionary development in the restaurant industry" was now available for sale to interested parties.