Taylor's Maid-Rite History
In 1926, the Maid-Rite sandwich was born! Fred Angell started the concept in Muscatine, Iowa. Fred began to franchise his idea, selling the rights to Newton, Iowa in 1927 and Marshalltown, Iowa in 1928.
Cliff Taylor purchased the 1928 franchise for the sum of $300. Cliff and his family operated Taylor's Maid-Rite Hamburger Shop; baking pies at home, slicing whole pickles from Marshall Vinegar Works and buns from Strand's Bakery.
After Cliff's death in 1944, his son Don Taylor and wife Polly took over operations at Taylor's Maid-Rite. Don continued to run the Maid-Rite in the same fashion, even building a cooler in the basem*nt of his home to store the hamburger that was ground daily!
In 1958, Don Taylor built a “state of the art” building across the street from the original location. The new Maid-Rite was high tech for the time; all equipment was stainless steel, the counters were up on legs for better cleaning, and they even had TWO cash registers!
Don Taylor continued to operate a successful, popular, and efficient business until his death in 1973. Polly with the assistance of many long time employees continued with the day-to-day operations until 1985 when her grandson Don Short took over.
We haven't changed very much in the last 95years. We still grind 100% choice beef daily to ensure its quality and freshness. We make ice cream from our original recipe and continue to offer fresh baked pies.
The big change at the Maid-Rite is that Don and Polly Taylor's daughter, Sandra Taylor Short has taken over operations of the Maid-Rite.
