"The grandfather of the fast food business was born and raised in North Dakota."

That statement appeared in the April 2, 2000, New York Times obituary of Donald Townsend.

Townsend was born on his parents' Q-Bar-Q ranch near Medora on June 20, 1908.

Albert and Lydia Townsend had seven children, of which Don Townsend was the oldest of four sons.

In 1923, the family moved to Pullman, Wash., where Don Townsend originally got work as a logger. After an injury, he started work in the food industry.

He opened a hotdog stand in Pullman and, later, operated a couple of diners in Seattle. Eventually, he ended up in California working for the Borden Co.

He then convinced his brother Neal, who was seven years younger, to become involved in a number of different business ventures including coffee shops, dairy bars and some of the first fast food diners in the nation, when they started a chain called Cameos.

In 1954, Neal Townsend and his good friend Alan Tadeus Kay borrowed money to open a fast food steak eatery in San Francisco on Powell Street called Tad's Steakhouse.

The name Tad's came from Kay's middle name. Don Townsend saw the potential in this restaurant and, with his business expertise, made it a success.

Alan Kay died shortly after the opening of the restaurant that bore his name.

The basic concept of Tad's Steakhouse was to offer a full T-bone steak dinner in a nice atmosphere at a reasonable price.

They bought lower-grade cuts of beef, which were then marinated in papaya juice to make them tender. The chefs would cook the meat over open grills on tiles that looked like charcoal.

These tiles were invented by the Townsend brothers.

To help cut costs, there were no waiters. The customers picked up a tray and told the cooks how they wanted their steaks prepared. Along with the steak, the diners received a baked potato, garlic bread and a tossed salad. The Townsends also kept expenses down by not advertising and relying on word-of-mouth.

In 1957, believing they had everything in place for a successful chain, the Townsends embarked upon placing Tad's Steakhouse in selective locations. The first of these was in the heart of New York City, on 42nd Street between Broadway and the Avenue of the Americas.

The restaurant proved a huge success, as New Yorkers were able to receive a steak dinner for $1.07. Soon Tad's Steaks were appearing in other major cities. By the mid-'60s, there were 28 restaurants in the U.S., with eight of them located in New York.

The Townsends were always looking for ways to utilize the cutting edge of technology.

With the advent of the microwave oven, they hoped to capitalize on it in their restaurant business. Don Townsend's daughter, Donna Searby, tells of a restaurant they opened in New York City in the late 1950s called Tad's 57 Varieties.

Customers would come in and choose from a selection of pre-made meals. After selecting and paying for the food items, they would sit at a table with a microwave oven on it. They would heat the food for the proper length of time and then eat it, but there was one problem: Most dishes at the time were too hot to handle.

Don and Neal Townsend worked with Raytheon to develop cookware that did not absorb as much heat. All of us who now regularly use a microwave to heat our food can tip our hat to the Townsend brothers the next time we do not burn our fingers when removing the food from the microwave.

Don Townsend designed, built and operated numerous pavilions during several of the World's Fairs in the 1960s and early '70s. According to Donald Townsend's longtime friend writer Sandra Hochman, Ray Kroc conferred with Donald Townsend before purchasing McDonald's and making it the No. 1 fast food franchise in the nation.

If it is true that Kroc found advice from Donald Townsend invaluable to his success with McDonald's, it could enhance the speculation of the mystique behind the generous donations made by Mrs. Kroc to the victims of the 1997 Grand Forks flood.

During the 1970s energy crisis, Don and Neal Townsend saw new opportunities and drilled the first geothermal well in Nevada, near Yerington.

They also developed one of the first ethanol plants in the state. In 1988, Don and Neal Townsend sold their restaurants to the Riese Brothers, who own and operate more than 100 restaurants in New York City.

Neal Townsend died in 1998 and, on March 25, 2000, Donald Townsend died at the age of 91. According to his daughter, Donna, he was active right up to the very end.

(Written by Curt Eriksmoen and edited by Jan Eriksmoen. Reach the Eriksmoens at cjeriksmoen@;cableone.net.)