Did you know the Filet-O-Fish started in Ohio?
TOLEDO, Ohio — This week marks 63 years of the McDonald's Filet-O-Fish, first created right here in the Buckeye State.
In 1962, McDonald's franchise owner Lou Groen invented the first ever Filet-O-Fish sandwich at his restaurant in Cincinnati. Groen's goal behind the creation of the sandwich was to give those participating in Lent an alternative option for meat.
Groen's Cincinnati location at the time was the first ever McDonald's in Ohio, and now his descendants own and operate 30 locations in the area.
According to Groen's granddaughter Erica Shadoin, the Filet-O-Fish wasn’t accepted at first by McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc. Kroc believed the Hula Burger, a sandwich made with pineapple, would help mitigate some of the sales losses that heavily Catholic areas experienced during Lent. Therefore, the Hula Burger and the Filet-O-Fish competed to see which sold more, with the winner earning a permanent spot on the menu.
In 1965, the Filet-O-Fish was officially added to the restaurant's menu. The Groen family stated that the recipe today remains the same, except now the fish used is an Alaskan Pollock.
This Lent, McDonald's restaurants in Ohio are offering two Filet-O-Fish, Big Mac, or 10-piece Chicken McNuggets for just $6.
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