Longtime McDonald’s franchisee Michael James "Jim" Delligatti, who created the Big Mac sandwich nearly 50 years ago, died Monday in Pittsburgh at age 98.
Delligatti invented the signature sandwich in 1967 to help diversify the then-simple menu and offer customers a bigger sandwich containing two burger patties, cheese, lettuce, pickles, onions, and special sauce on a triple decker sesame seed bun.
Son Michael Delligatti said his late father ate at least one of the famous, 540-calorie sandwiches every week for decades, The Associated Press reported.
McDonald's still sells 550 million Big Macs every year, the AP reported, and has sold billions of the sandwiches since they were created.
Delligatti did not receive royalties or payments for inventing the sandwich.
Delligatti also pioneered the hotcakes and sausage meal to cater to steelworkers who wanted to get a hot breakfast after working the overnight shift at the steel plant.
“Delligatti was a legendary franchisee within McDonald’s system who made a lasting impression on our brand,” McDonald’s said Wednesday in a statement, the AP reported. Most franchisees are not permitted to vary the menu and make changes due to the importance of uniformity among franchises within the company.
Delligatti became a McDonald’s franchisee in 1957. His family now owns a total of 21 McDonald’s franchises in the Pittsburgh area, with two sons and two grandsons also becoming franchisees, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Delligatti co-founded the Pittsburgh Ronald McDonald House in 1979 and supported other charities as well. The family opened a McDonald’s Big Mac Museum Restaurant in 2007 near Pittsburgh.
Delligatti is survived by his wife, Ellie, two sons, five grandchildren, and eight great grandchildren.