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Blow Up The Clown
Jack Returns As CEO
Jack In The Box Union Meeting
Jack Meets A Focus Group
Jack Travels To Italy

Jack And The Box's journey began in 1951, when the restaurant opened in San Diego at 6270 El Cajon Blvd. Equipped with a drive-thru window and a few picnic tables for walk-up guests, the tiny restaurant served up hamburgers for just 18 cents, while a large jack-in-the-box clown kept watch from the roof. Over the past 50 years, Jack in the Box has pioneered a number of firsts in the quick-serve industry. Not only did the company become the first major fast-food chain that started as a drive-thru, it was the first to introduce menu items like the breakfast sandwich and pre-packaged portable salads that are now staples on most fast-food menu boards. Random Facts About The San Diego-Based Chain The chain's signature hamburger, the Jumbo Jack, got its name because it was considered one of the largest burgers in the fast-food industry when it was introduced in 1971. In 1969, Jack in the Box introduced the first breakfast sandwich, and in 1982 introduced the first portable salad. If all the Jack in the Box burgers made since 1951 were placed side by side, they would circle the earth 12 times. 600 Jack in the Box tacos are consumed each minute, a total of 315,360,000 tacos each year. Gone, but not forgotten, the chain has a few renowned menu items that have gone the way of mood rings and shag carpeting, including a fish sandwich called the Moby Jack, introduced in 1970, and Frings, a combination of onion rings and french fries, introduced in 1979. In May 1999, Jack in the Box added ketchup to the Jumbo Jack, the first significant change to the chain's classic sandwich in 20 years. Ketchup bumped Jack's signature "special sauce" from the burger, but due to guests' demands, special sauce is still available on request. Long before he was an "Easy Rider," actor Dennis Hopper worked at a Jack in the Box restaurant in La Mesa, Calif.