Corporate Background
In 1905, Carl Raschick and Frank Minea founded National Checking Company in St. Paul, Minnesota, as printers of coupon books, widely used as cash equivalents at that time. Customers included schools, cafés, gasoline stations, dairies and railroads. The company was formally incorporated in 1909.
By 1930, the United States was fast becoming a mobile society, with 26 million cars on the road. The U.S. became saturated, almost overnight, with new kinds of eateries - diners, cafeterias, soda shops, luncheonettes, Automats, barbecue stands, drive-ins, refreshment stands, ice cream parlors, and new 'chain' restaurants that blossomed during the 1920s and 1930s. (John Mariani, "America Eats Out") In 1938, Frank Minea reported to National Checking Company's board of directors that the tabulating card business was a growth opportunity and the company capitalized on this growth. By the late 1960s state-of-the-art information technology shifted to magnetic tape and then the computer chip, eventually making the tab card obsolete. As the tab card declined, the stock restaurant check business took off as demographic shifts made dining away from home more popular than ever.
The 1960s brought huge changes for the company. During this decade, National Checking Company unionized, adopted a policy of compliance with the Civil Rights Act of 1964, established an employee profit sharing plan and revamped its restaurant check sales and marketing strategy. At that time Ben Olk became the National Sales Manager, and eventually President and began developing the infrastructure to support the emerging food service distribution channel. During the 1970s, baby boomers - many of them women - entered the work force in huge numbers. More people in the workforce meant more people eating away from home, more takeout meals for busy parents too tired to cook, and more disposable income for eating out on weekends.
By 1980, National Checking Company had established a stable of warehouses allowing quick turnaround, regional sales, and prompt delivery. At the same time additional regional sales reps were hired to develop relationships with distributors and brokers across the country.
In 1998 National Checking Company moved its headquarters into a new manufacturing facility in St. Paul. By 2003, the company opened a sales office and warehouse in Mexico City and recently the company began supplying products in the United Kingdom.
Today, approximately 875,000 restaurants post daily sales of more than $1.2 billion, and restaurant meals account for more than 45 percent of what Americans spend on food. National Checking Company's iconic green pad is a colorful thread in America's cultural fabric - a source of great corporate pride. The GuestCheckTM will be around for many more years, and the company's future looks bright as new product lines, marketing programs and technologies are launched to help end users provide stellar customer service and achieve their business goals.