Pennsylvania McDonald’s Franchisee Who Created Big Mac Dies At 98

A man eats a Big Mac burger at a branch restaurant of fast food franchise McDonalds in Cologne, Germany, 25 May 2015. Photo by: Oliver Berg/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images
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PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh-area McDonald’s franchisee who created the Big Mac nearly 50 years ago has died. Michael “Jim” Delligatti was 98.

McDonald’s spokeswoman Kerry Ford confirmed that Delligatti died at home surrounded by his family on Monday night.

Delligatti’s franchise was based in Uniontown, about 40 miles south of Pittsburgh, when he invented the chain’s signature burger with two all-beef patties, “special sauce,” lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun.

Delligatti told The Associated Press in 2006 that Oak Brook, Illinois-based McDonald’s resisted the idea at first because its simple lineup of hamburgers, cheeseburgers, fries and shakes were selling well.

But Delligatti wanted to offer a bigger burger and it went over so well it spread to the rest of Delligatti’s 47 stores, then went national in 1968.

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This story has been corrected to show the creator’s name was Michael ‘Jim’ Delligatti, not James Delligatti.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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