WE DESERVE A BREAK TODAY!

By James Banakis

October 30, 2024

There is one thing I share with many Americans. I received my first official paycheck from McDonalds. I was 16 years old, and I was happy and proud to be paid $1.25 per hour, minimum wage. This was 10 years after Ray Kroc opened his first McDonalds in Des Plaines in 1954. I worked at the newly opened McDonalds on Madison in Oak Park. Many of my best friends in the restaurant business began the same way. Rich Melman started out in his family’s business but worked at Henry’s fast-food restaurant in high school. It was one of the many things we had in common.

While I didn’t realize it at the time, I learned a system and business model that revolutionized the hospitality industry and impacted my career. In 1940 the McDonald brothers opened a BBQ restaurant with car hops in San Bernardino California. Like many new restaurants, the menu was too large, the payroll was too high, the staff was untrained, and the layout was chaotic. Out of necessity the brothers paired down the menu to just a few of the best-selling items. They eliminated most of their payroll and laid out the floor space into 4 separate work areas. They brought an American invention, assembly line, to their business and called it “Speedee Service System.”

One day, a few weeks after we opened in Oak Park, Ray Kroc arrived to inspect the new restaurant. I was assigned to the milk shake station. At the time Ray Kroc wasn’t famous, but we knew he was important. We spent all morning cleaning and recleaning our stations. In the lull between the lunch and dinner service Kroc arrived. He was very tan as I remember. The first thing he did on entering, was to put on an apron and his paper hat. When he finally arrived at the shake station, he told me he was going to give me a test.

Each milkshake contained 11.5 ounces of mix which we had to weigh on a scale. He filled one, handed it to me and said, “without weighing this on the scale, tell me how much it weighs.” I lifted the cup knowing it was too heavy and said, “13.5 ounces.” He weighed it and I was correct. He put mix in another cup and asked me again what it weighed. This one was too light, and I told him it was 9.0 ounces. He put it on the scale, and I was right on the mark. He handed me the third cup and I told him just like “Goldilocks and The Three Bears,” that it was just right. After confirming I was correct with the scale, he yelled out for all to hear, “keep this kid on shakes!”

Years later I was part of a group from Lettuce Entertain You that did a joint project with McDonalds, and I shared my Ray Kroc story with their executives and corporate chef. I love and respect McDonalds and that’s why I was anxious to see how Donald Trump was going to fare working the fry station.

Most politicians would never attempt to learn how to work a station in a business. They might show up for a photo-op, smile, take a few bites of a burger, and leave. Trump, much like Ray Kroc, took off his jacket and put on a heavy-duty apron. He introduced himself to the manager and effortlessly greeted all the employees. He allowed the employee at the fry station to explain the entire process.

He paid close attention to the entire procedure, asking meaningful questions. When it came time to work the station, he did so flawlessly, filling the fry containers. Now this might look easy, but I can assure you from personal experience, it’s not. Trump was able to do this I think, because he probably learned all the jobs involved with the construction of his many businesses. He learned the employees’ names and used them instinctively.

He then worked the take-out window and did such a good job sincerely connecting with the customers that it warmed my heart. His teamwork with the other employees was so natural and considerate. SPOILER ALERT! I’m going to vote for Trump, but like many of us he has had cringy moments that had me wondering about his decision-making. I’ve spent my entire life in the restaurant business. I’m able to spot someone who lacks leadership qualities.

Donald Trump is a natural leader who knows how to motivate people who work for him and grow a business. He’s not perfect. We all know this, but what he did at McDonalds I think has won him the election.

If he wasn’t real, it could have exposed him as a phony. He was confident in his ability to do the same thing he does when he builds a hotel. He learns how to master all the positions. Working in a kitchen was not foreign to him. I’m sure like me, he could even car hop if he had to.

He may have gone to McDonalds to shame his opponent, but his instinct has won over so many people who have worked in restaurants. Add to all this no tax on tips, and he has won the hospitality industry segment of the electorate. Trump claims that he got the idea not to tax tips from a server in Nevada. This is exactly how an entrepreneur gets ideas on how to grow a business. You listen to your customers and your employees. It’s a collaborative effort. I doubt that a career politician would be able to connect with the public like this.

This is the reason Trump can relate with Elon Musk. They’ve both built businesses and understand how to solve problems. Together they may be able to reduce government spending and make it more efficient for us the tax paying stockholders. Musk cut the Twitter staff by 80 percent, and it works better than ever. Over the past four years, the Biden administration has spent trillions of dollars without any oversite. Billions to house and feed and support millions of illegal aliens. Billions to fuel wars and inadvertently encourage Iran terror. Billions to erect electric charging stations that have never been built. We voters have become numb to spending, which is the reason we have runaway inflation.

During the pandemic, most government agencies stopped working. Unlike the rest of us, all the government employees continued to receive paychecks while staying at home. We don’t need millions of employees working in government jobs.

Bureaucrats aren’t concerned with saving wasteful spending. So many in the private sector lost their jobs. Just recalling those two years and all the upheaval in the country depresses me. We had to get creative to keep our businesses open. Many closed forever.

McDonalds “Speedee Service System” was created as a necessity to save a failing business. It revolutionized the hospitality industry and the country. Learning the system changed my life. My brief interaction with Ray Kroc was one of the highlights of my career. If I had to lay out that first McDonalds, I could do it today. I went on to learn all the stations and went away to school, opting for a better paying summer job.

This is the same path so many of us have taken in life. It wasn’t easy. That’s why President Trump’s excellent McDonalds adventure was so potentially impactful. Most of us can relate. Sure, it was a political ploy, but he did a masterful job of pulling it off. It had unintended consequences.

This may be the beginning of the public’s understanding the importance of businesspeople running the government. Sometimes it takes flirting with disaster to wake us up. We all deserve a break today!

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Jimmy Banakis is a life-long restaurateur.  He was an honorary batboy for the White Sox in 1964. He attended Oak Park River Forest High School, Nebraska Wesleyan University, and Chicago-Kent Law School.  He claims the kitchen is the room he’s most comfortable in anywhere in the world. He published an extremely limited-edition family cookbook. He’s a father and grandfather, and lives in Downers Grove Il.

Comments 24

  1. “Just recalling those two years and all the upheaval in the country depresses me”

    Me too, for sure.

    This is an excellent piece. I like you, Jimmy, had the pleasure of working at McDonalds in High School. Started at the minimum wage of $1.40 in 1977. I had the honor, if you may, of working for one of the areas best known franchisees, Ernie Cochanis, who you might or might not know, at his first store on Central Ave in Belmont-Cragin. This was before the days of chicken sandwiches, salads and drive thrus. It was a time when the fries really were the best and actually had taste. It was a time when the jobs were for high school kids like myself getting their feet wet in the working world or seniors and retirees looking for something to do with themselves. It wasn’t about supporting a family, which you probably could do then if you were in management (which I achieved in a lower lever). It was a life learning experience which I will always treasure. Responsibility, friendships and relationships were learned.

    Mr Trump, stunt or not, took the time out and as crazy as it sounds, may have captured what working there was all truly all about. Your recollections and analysis took me back to a time near and dear, and you are absolutely correct in all of it. People can say what they want about the place, and today it’s far from what it used to be. As with other things in today’s world, the corporation effed it up – and with people who didn’t rise up the ranks as Ray Kroc promoted. And like everything else today, those phonies at the top keep destroying things.

    Thank you Jimmy for your accurate assessment. Thank you for bringing back some good times.

  2. Great stuff, Jimmy. A great way to start my day! I, too, believe in a collaborative effort with employees and I pride myself on listening to them closely. Today, I will listen even more closely. Politicians should view themselves as managers, thinking and running their offices as a business. Unfortunately, not very many do and a lot of voters vote for people that don’t know how to manage. That’s why we have the Kamalas and Schiff shows. Trump gets it.

  3. Lovely article, Mr. Banakis! Having already made Cracker Jack, I worked at Chicken Unlimited at 79th & Wood Street and ruined many batches of Gene Mahoney’s stock. He put his hand on my shoulder and said, ” Chicken ain’t for you, Hickey.” From there is was Gee Lumber for the next two years amd janitor work at Orchestra Hall for the next five.

  4. Thanks for a great, insightful column, Mr. Banakis. I started working in a Jewel grocery store in Lake Forest when I was in high school. I started work on time, most Saturday’s at 7 am. I became friends with all my fellow workers and the truck drivers who delivered the fresh produce before the store opened. I learned a lot you don’t learn in school. I think our country would benefit greatly if kids had part time jobs where they could learn to work, be responsible, and understand the value of a dollar. Clearly, it’s too late for too many in politics and government to grasp these realities.

  7. Thanks for a great article.

    Years ago I voted for Ross Perot, thinking that a businessman should have the opportunity to run our country.

    And for those who claim that Pres. Trump at McDonalds was “staged”? Of course, it’s called “campaigning”! At least he got out there and did it. Why didn’t Kamala do it?

    2. “Why didn’t Kamala do it?”
      Two possibilities come to mind. If she actually *had* worked there once, she might have remembered that she hadn’t been any good at it and didn’t want to expose that to the world, which is understandable. If she had never worked there, she wouldn’t want her actual inexperience to be exposed to the world either – also understandable. Rock, meet hard place.

  8. On April Fools Day at age 16, I started working part-time for Woolworths on State Street for $1.00/hr. Yep, and I remember we had to clock in and out for our 15 minute breaks. Money earned for time standing behind the counter, dealing with people from all walks of life and learning about the free enterprise system. Left a few months later for greener pastures … a summer job paying a whopping $1.35/hr. Each job built upon the last. These jobs are truly springboards in our lives. Thanks for taking me back. Enjoyed your well written and thoughtful article.

  9. I started working at age 11, delivering newspapers. Tribune, Daily News, Chicago Today & Northwest Journal. My best friend & I had 4 routes & money to eat at the cafeteria of the Crystal Inn. From there it was Turnstyle/Venture. My Mom always taught me that no matter how good/bad the boss was that I was to do my job to the best of my ability as I was getting paid to do a job & God above was watching. A foreign concept. It taught me values I hold to this day. Those jobs were training grounds, not a place to make a living unless you planned on climbing the ladder into management as Mr. Banakis mentioned. Mr Hickey, Chicken Unlimited was my favorite as a child. Chicken, fries, Cole slaw, a dinner role with a packet of honey & a moist towelette. As someone here mentioned Corporate America is run by MBA’s who only see profits, not instilling service & a great product. Of course people who don’t have a work ethic are part & parcel of the problem. Thanks for the trip down memory lane & life lessons of hard work Mr. Banakis.

  10. Excellent article Mr. Banakis!
    There is no substitute for success without learning the job and hard work. President Trump showed that; at the end of the day that is what most Americans know and understand. Today’s politicians and bureaucrats have an almost similar background: do well in High School, intern with a local politician, go to college and get a Sociology/Political Science type degree, go to law school and then get a government job. These political titans do not know what it is like to worry about payroll, paying vendors, paying the bank and working within a budget. Business owners short on cash would either put their money in (or mortgage the house again) or would forgo their salaries trying to make ends meet-imagine asking a politician to do that! For the politician, if you are short on cash borrow and raise taxes!

  11. Another remarkably thoughtful, well-written column, after your recent, marvelous one regarding our constitution. This explains, even to me, why I am able to overlook Trump’s crassness and sometimes “loose cannon” behaviors. I’ve voted, and now I’m just praying!

  12. Besides being a golf caddy and mowing lawns my first paycheck eminated from 1819 W Madison, Andy Frain’s Hq. First job was pulling the “Hello” float in the State Street Christmas parade (and a photo in that Monday’s SunTimes). That was the starting point for hundreds of careers in CPD,CFD, the Archdiocese of Chicago (a Bishop in fact), Cook County’s Chief Medical Examiner, doctors , lawyers, and at least one CIA operative. Frain still is in business based in Aurora run by the (Grand) son in law of the founder. You learned responsibility and being on time in shined shoes, pressed uniform and white gloves. Where else could a high schooler take charge of hundreds of sports fans, folks at Grand Openings, Auto Debuts and even carrying caskets at funerals. Many of us keep
    In touch to this day. Great success stories again taught like at McD’s. When I was a bit older in college I worked as a helper on a soft drink route truck. I learned the value of hard days labor (try “throwing” a case of 16oz bottles (24) of soda ten high.) A friend had a job As a pig “sticker” at the Stockyards and later as a steel walker wearing wood clogs marking slabs of steel with chalk hot out of the oven. (Became very successful attorney here in town).
    Biden, Harris, Obama and most politicians NEVER had real jobs as a kid/Young adult. Trump gets it. He started many businesses. Yes some failed. ya gotta break a few eggs to
    Make that omelette. He may have faults, but he understands the country and is a patriot Jan 6 not withstanding.

  13. I loved reading this! It really highlights the difference between career politicians who never had (or have long forgotten) the importance of a strong work ethic, a “roll up your sleeves” attitude, and a sincere appreciation for hard-working folks on the front lines of a business. My first “real job” was at age 16 at a Roy Rogers fast-food restaurant but that was after many years of babysitting for other families starting at age 12. In fact, I can’t recall a time after age 12 when I didn’t have a job in some form or another. Contrast that with today’s elite class of career politicians, who in many cases never had a “real job,” ran a business or met a payroll, work only part-time, travel constantly (including overseas even when their positions are local) on the taxpayer dime, enjoy all the perks (and ability to enrich themselves through insider trading, corruption, grift and conflicts of interest), and spend almost their entire time jockeying to get re-elected instead of actually working on behalf of the people they’re supposed to serve. This is why I firmly believe in term limits and the Founding Fathers’ brilliant vision of people leaving business, industry, academia, whatever, to engage in public service for a time, and then stepping aside for others to do the same, with new energy, ideas and creative problem
    solving skills. Unfortunately, most of today’s politicians (individually and collectively) have figured out how to exploit the system to further their own selfish interests, constituents be damned. 2024 is a scary time but hopefully we’ll be turning a corner soon, away from the “Big Government” model with all of its corruption, waste and inefficiency. Anyway, thanks for your insightful piece – I enjoyed it!

  14. Banakis applies his personal history so shrewdly to the leadership decision we’re facing Tuesday. Effective leaders are able to listen to workers and think on their feet.

    Sure, Trump working McDonald’s is a stage play, but it’s a relevant one. As Banakis acknowledges, the guy does have his “cringy moments.” But the Trump campaign, through impressive long interviews and challenging audiences, contrasts so dramatically with the Harris campaign, whose hysterical shrieks of “fascism” and utter falsity is one extended cringy moment.

  15. Very well-written column, Jimmy!

    Though not my first job, and even though I’m City of Chicago born and bred, I spent time 40+ years ago under the Golden Arches learning from Bill Klinefelter in Duluth, MN. And it was good! I remember the sign in the break room: “The world belongs to those who try (or was it strive?) for 110%.”

    Lol, and the name “Filet-O-Fish” comes from Spanish.

  16. Jimmy,
    Thanks, and belated Xronia Polla for your namesday a few days ago! What a stellar synopsis of the ongoing election process of today. How does a candidate connect with the electorate? Just like Mr. Trump did, putting on an apron, preparing fries, and taking customers’ orders. I don’t ever recall anyone running for president attempting to rub elbows, literally, with us, the common folks. This spotlighted the mindset of a man seeking the highest office in the land. He can, and does, connect with everyone, because he’s done so much, been everywhere, built so much, seen so much, and dealt with adversity without giving up. My summer jobs were spent painting and sandblasting in our family’s painting business, which helped prepare me for real life experiences. Dealing with my fellow crew members and customers, handling adversity while working in blistering summer heat in steel mills, not to mention being at the business end of a nozzle that’s spitting sand at over 600 mph! In retrospect, I wish I had learned how to make fries and shakes instead! Oh well, that’s life.

  17. Awesome! What a story. Thank you, working with Ray Croc OMG!. I remember those early Mc Donald’s. Cock Robin too. Great shakes in abundance

    praying…

  18. Brought back some great memories from my first job at McDonald’s on Rt 22 in New Jersey. I think I got paid $1.25 and could eat all I wanted…learned to cook a double cheeseburger and then consume it well before it was on the menu. My learning experience from McDonald’s and one I used in my business career was simple. They tried me on grilling, then fries, then drinks and finally on taking orders and collecting, the cash (no credit cards in the dark ages). They found my strength because I could count change and interact with our customers.

    Later became Sr. VP Sales then COO of a couple of companies but remembered how to treat customers and count the pennies. I believe Trump as a business person learned a similar skill.

  19. Thanks for your observations once again. I could not agree more with your analysis. I have read President Lincoln exhibited much of the same hunger and curiosity for the input of the “common man”.
    And in the 1980s his leadership style came to be dubbed “Management By Wandering Around”.

  20. Great article Jim! I escaped Chicago for the Free State of Texas. I live in a suburb of Houston known as The Energy Corridor. You still see kids here with lemonade stands on Saturday mornings. Their parents teaching them the values of working even though their parents pretty much can afford everything these kids would ever need. Many people here are attached to the energy industry, this area home to the largest population of expats from Venezuela. They escaped when Hugo Chavez and his socialist accomplices collapsed one of the most prosperous petroleum industries in latin America. Many were experienced, educated and were already employed by oil companies so all they had to do is get here. This was well before Biden opened our borders. These people applied for entry are here legally. Most say they would return gladly if they could get Maduros out of there. Their children hate socialism and hate our homegrown Socialist/Communists like Ocasio Cortez. They can see through all the trash like Harris, Cortez and her ilk in the Democrat party. The Democrats are gambling that by creating another DACA underclass they will create a voting base of illegals to replace the Blacks and Hispanics who have left their plantation. Not likely. Just like the Cubans in Florida, the Venezuelans here are virulently anti socialist/ communist, witnessing the destruction of their countries due to these people. They embrace work ethic and values of true Americans. It’s our own children that are seduced by the lies of Socialist/Communist Kamala and Ocasio that we should worry about. They are creating the enemy from within.

  21. My first job was in a restaurant in Lyons called Baldi’s. It was an Italian eatery serving all kinds of Italian food, including pizza. I worked 4 hours a night a couple days a week and made a whopping 4 dollars a night. No FICA, no withholding, but also not much money. I suppose IRS will come looking for me to collect the tax due, plus interest. The IRS will tell me I owe four hundred thousand dollars. Thank you Joe for hiring 87000 new IRS agents, with guns.

    If nothing else, I learned lot about people and how they act in public. Some people were very nice, some were total slobs, and others were self important. My parents had worked in the restaurant business, Old Heidelberg on Randolph, just west of State. So, they advised me on how to treat customers and what I would learn. They were so correct. I learned how to respect people, no matter how they were in public.

    All of that took place in the 60’s, before minimum wage, but the learning experience was priceless.

  22. My personal connection to McDonalds came in a round about way. I bartered rent in an Evanston building I owned for some painting to a down on his luck guy who was living in his car. A relationship developed. He took his decorating skills very seriously. He kept telling me “Im just a black man trying to make it in a white mans world”. At that time in the 70s McDonalds was actively recruiting minorities for managerial positions…..I encouraged him to pursue this possibility. After much negative thought on his part he finally proceeded. The rest was history. His life trajectory took off like a rocket….cleaning washrooms….working the window….assistant manager….manager….finally the brass ring….his own franchise. He returned a few years later to thank me for that fatherly push when he needed it the most. We both gave thanks to that McDonalds that gave him what he needed at that point in his life. God bless you Calvin where ever you are.

    t

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