- Feb 5, 2002
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NEW YORK – Not long after Lou Groen opened a McDonald’s franchise on the west side of Cincinnati in 1959, did he realize that on Fridays during Lent the local Catholic community took their business to a nearby Frisch’s Big Boy for a fish sandwich, instead of to McDonald’s for a hamburger.
That’s when Groen, a Catholic himself, came up with a menu item to save the business: A fish sandwich.
“My grandfather was really about to lose his franchise. I mean, even today it’s pennies on the dollar that you’re making on each transaction so to lose a whole day of sales was just not tenable,” Erica Shadoin, Groen’s granddaughter who today owns that same McDonald’s franchise at 5425 West North Bend Road in Cincinnati, told Crux.
“My grandfather knew most of his customers, and he knew that a fish sandwich was something that he was going to need to entice them, especially during the Lenten period,” she said.
Continued below.
cruxnow.com
That’s when Groen, a Catholic himself, came up with a menu item to save the business: A fish sandwich.
“My grandfather was really about to lose his franchise. I mean, even today it’s pennies on the dollar that you’re making on each transaction so to lose a whole day of sales was just not tenable,” Erica Shadoin, Groen’s granddaughter who today owns that same McDonald’s franchise at 5425 West North Bend Road in Cincinnati, told Crux.
“My grandfather knew most of his customers, and he knew that a fish sandwich was something that he was going to need to entice them, especially during the Lenten period,” she said.
Continued below.
Origins of the Filet-O-Fish: Created to serve a local Catholic community
In the early 1960s, Lou Groen had the idea to add a fish sandwich to the menu of his Cincinnati McDonald’s franchise to give the local Catholic community a meatless option during Lent. The rest, as they say, is history.
