The beloved fast food chain older than McDonald’s that’s still thriving after 87 years

The chain is older than you might realise… (Picture: Greggs)

McDonald’s UK celebrated its 50th birthday last year, half a century on from when the first golden arches appeared in Woolwich in 1974.

The fast food chain has been around much longer than that, though, with the very first McDonald’s restaurant opening all the way back in 1940, in San Bernardino, California.

It wasn’t until 1955 that the business started to become Maccies as we know it today, and the company now boasts over 44,000 outlets across the globe — including more than 13,000 in the US alone.

However, it’s not the only industry success story.

In fact, there’s a thriving UK chain that’s been around even longer than McDonald’s has, expanding across the country and earning loyal customers in the decades since its inception.

We’re talking, of course, about everyone’s favourite sausage roll and steak bake spot — Greggs!

Greggs was founded in 1939, but the company was a little different back then (Picture: Getty Images)

When was Greggs founded?

Greggs was founded in 1939 by John Gregg, but back then, there was no iconic square logo, and he didn’t have shops on the high street selling doughnuts, or cheese and bean melts.

The business was much simpler at the time — John and his wife worked as a team delivering baking ingredients, such as fresh eggs and yeast, to families in Newcastle on a bike. 

It wasn’t until 1951 that the very first Greggs Bakery launched on Gosforth High Street, then known as Greggs of Gosforth, selling fresh bread and other tasty treats.

John ran the shop until he died in 1964, when the business was taken over by his son Ian, who expanded the brand throughout the 70s, acquiring other bakeries around the country before going public in 1984.

Ian Gregg, owner of bakery chain Greggs, UK, 19th April 1984. (Picture: N. Beattie/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

By the year 2000, Greggs had more than 1,000 UK sites after taking over the Bakers Oven chain, but it wasn’t until 2008 that it began using the iconic branding we see today.

The company kept on growing and evolving since, with more locations, new offerings including sandwiches, soups, and vegan sausage rolls, and even fashion collabs with Primark.

It opened a record 220 new shops throughout 2023, followed by a further 140 to 160 last. The chain’s current total is more than 2,450, but its goal is to reach 3,000.

The business expanded throughout the 70s (Picture: Staff/Mirrorpix via Getty Images)

As well as regular shops and cafes, the firm also has several outlet stores – located in Newcastle, Cardiff, Glasgow, Southampton, London, and Sheffield – where unsold day-old food from other Greggs sites is redistributed and sold at a lower price.

In 2023, Greggs even teamed up with Fenwick in Newcastle to launch what was dubbed ‘Posh Greggs’.

Initially, the collaboration saw fans enjoying a ‘fine dining experience’ at the department store, with a champagne bar opened the following year, where diners could pair their pastries with £425 drinks.

There was also a 22-carat gold-plated Greggs jewellery collection launched for London Fashion Week 2024, which included sausage roll earrings, a Jammy Heart Necklace and a £96 charm bracelet hand-crafted by contemporary British artist Dion Kitson.

The chain now has more than 2,450 sites across the UK (Picture: JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

And in September 2025, the chain opened its first ‘pub’.

Known as The Golden Flake Tavern, it opened in the Fenwick department store in Newcastle and offered two exclusive beers available on draft – the Pink Jammie Pale Ale and the Gosforth 1939 Stottie Lager – developed in partnership with Newcastle-based Full Circle Brew Co, plus a Greggs-inspired cocktail menu. 

A version of this article was first published on October 23, 2024.

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