Al Bernardin (February 17, 1928 – December 22, 2009) was an American restaurateur and businessman who invented the

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hambur ...

Quarter Pounder in 1971 as a

franchise Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...

owner in Fremont, California. The creation of the Quarter Pounder earned him the nickname "Fremont's hamburger king." Bernardin, during the 60’s, was McDonald's

vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

product development In business and engineering, new product development (NPD) covers the complete process of bringing a new product to market, renewing an existing product or introducing a product in a new market. A central aspect of NPD is product design, along w ...

. His position allowed him to play a key role in the development of some of the company's signature menu items, including frozen french fries, which allowed for easier storage and transportation, as well as the McDonald's fish sandwich,

apple pie An apple pie is a fruit pie in which the principal filling ingredient is apples. The earliest printed recipe is from England. Apple pie is often served with whipped cream, ice cream ("apple pie à la mode"), or cheddar cheese. It is gene ...

and cherry pie.

McDonald's

Bernardin was born on February 17, 1928, in Lawrence, Massachusetts. He received his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

in 1952. He was first hired to work at McDonald's

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

corporate headquarters in 1960. Bernardin was promoted to

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

of the company's training center, Hamburger University, within just six months of joining McDonald's.

Development of the Quarter Pounder

Bernardin purchased two company-owned McDonald's in Fremont, California, and relocated to the city in 1970. He successfully expanded his McDonald's franchise business, eventually owning nine of the restaurants throughout southern

Alameda County Alameda County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,682,353, making it the 7th-most populous county in the state and 21st most populous nationally. The county seat is Oakland. Alam ...

. Once in Fremont, Bernardin began experimenting with new menu items for his franchises. In 1971, Bernardin introduced the now famous Quarter Pounder at his McDonald's locations. He explained his idea for the Quarter Pounder in a 1991

interview An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" ...

marking the 20th anniversary of the burger's development saying, "felt there was a void in our menu vis-à-vis the adult who wanted a higher ratio of meat to

bun A bun is a type of bread roll, typically filled with savory fillings (for example hamburger). A bun may also refer to a sweet cake in certain parts of the world. Though they come in many shapes and sizes, buns are most commonly round, and are g ...

." Bernardin unveiled the Quarter Pounder using the slogan, "Today Fremont, tomorrow the world." The Quarter Pounder is now one of McDonald's most popular signature items, having been added to the national American menu in 1973.

Other McDonald's contributions

Additionally, Bernardin worked as McDonald's vice president of

during his career with the company. Though he was most famous for introducing the Quarter Pounder, Bernardin felt that his most important contribution to McDonald's and the larger fast food industry was the development of frozen french fries. Until 1967, all McDonald's french fries had to be cut on-site from stored potatoes and fried. Bernardin's frozen fries allowed for easier transport of the product and cleared storage space which was previously used for storing potatoes. He explained the benefits of frozen fries saying, "Before that, the (restaurants) had to store potatoes in the basement. It was a real pain." As vice president, Bernardin also shepherded the development of the McDonald's Filet-O-Fish, as well the company's fried apple and cherry pies. Not all of Bernadin's suggestions were included on McDonald's menus. McDonald's turned down his idea for a ground

turkey meat Turkey meat, commonly referred to as just turkey, is the meat from turkeys, typically domesticated turkeys but also wild turkeys. It is a popular poultry dish, especially in North America, where it is traditionally consumed as part of cultur ...

burger called the McGobbler. The company also dismissed his The Lite Mac sandwich, which would have consisted of a one fifth-pound burger patty containing 15% less beef fat than a normal

Big Mac The Big Mac is a hamburger sold by the international fast food restaurant chain McDonald's. It was introduced in the Greater Pittsburgh area in 1967 and across the United States in 1968. It is one of the company's flagship products and signat ...

. Bernardin spent approximately two years developing a prototype for buttered corn-on-the-cob, according to his son, Mark Bernardin, who is also a McDonald's franchise owner.

Later life

Bernardin and his wife, Joan Bernardin, became involved in philanthropy after his uncle received treatment in a hospice. Impressed by his uncle's hospice care, Bernardin founded the Tree of Angels, a Christmas tree lighting festival designed to raise money for the Pathways Hospice, based in Sunnyvale, California. The couple moved to the Monterey, California, area in the mid-1990s, eventually settling in

Pebble Beach Pebble Beach is an unincorporated community on the Monterey Peninsula in Monterey County, California. The small coastal residential community of mostly single-family homes is also notable as a resort destination, and the home of the golf course ...

. He spent time as a volunteer at hospices throughout northern California. Bernardin became a major benefactor for the

Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula (CHOMP) was founded in 1934 and is located at 23625 Holman Highway in Monterey, California. The hospital has 258 acute care beds and 28 skilled-nursing beds. CHOMP has 15 locations, including the main ...

, known as CHOMP. In addition to his home in Pebble Beach, Bernardin also had residences in

Pleasanton, California Pleasanton is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. Located in the Amador Valley, it is a suburb in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 79,871 at the 2020 census. In 2005 and 2007, Pleasanton wa ...

, Spanish Bay and

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...

. Bernardin suffered from a stroke later in his life. He died of complications of that stroke on December 22, 2009, at Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula in Monterey, California, at the age of 81. He was survived by his wife, Joan Bernardin, two children, Kirsten and Mark, three stepchildren, Dan Ryan, Julie Bullas, Kristie Ryan and ten grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernardin, Al 1928 births 2009 deaths McDonald's people Cornell University alumni People from Lawrence, Massachusetts People from Fremont, California People from Monterey County, California