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Duncan Hines (March 26, 1880 - March 15, 1959) was a U.S. pioneer of restaurant ratings for travelers. Born in Bowling Green, Kentucky, Hines was a traveling salesman for a Chicago printer. By age 55 in 1935, Hines had eaten a lot of good and bad meals on the road, as part of his job, all across the country. At this time in the United States, there was no interstate highway system and only a few chain restaurants, except for in large, populated areas. Therefore, travelers took their chances on getting a good meal at a local restaurant. Hines and his wife, Florence, began assembling a list for friends of several hundred good restaurants around the country. The list became so popular, that he began selling a paperback book entitled Adventures in Good Eating (1935), which highlighted restaurants and their featured dishes that Hines had personally enjoyed in cities and towns across America. The book became very popular, and restaurants that were favorably listed were given permission to hang a sign in the window that read "Recommended by Duncan Hines." [ citation needed ] This became a highly-valued designation. Travelers far from home could expect a decent meal by looking for the Duncan Hines sign. If a restaurant's standards dropped, it would be removed from the next edition of the book. Hines was so successful, he added another book, recommending lodging for the night. [ citation needed ] In 1953, Hines sold the right to use his name and the title of his book to Hines-Park Institute, which licensed the name to a number of food-related businesses. [ citation needed ] The cake mix license was sold to Nebraska Consolidated Mills in Omaha, Nebraska, which developed and sold the first "Duncan Hines" cake mixes. In 1957, Nebraska Consolidated Mills sold the cake mix business to the U.S. consumer products company, Procter & Gamble. The company expanded the business to the national market, and added a series of related products. Hines is now largely remembered for this rather than for any of his journalistic accomplishments. [ citation needed ] The Duncan Hines brand is now owned by Pinnacle Foods. Hines is widely honored in his hometown of Bowling Green and a portion of U.S. Highway 31W north of the city was named the Duncan Hines Highway after his death in 1959. [ citation needed ] Duncan Hines was buried in Fairview Cemetery of Bowling Green, Kentucky, in the same series of Hines family plots as Thomas Hines.
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