The History of the First McDonald's Restaurant

Most will recognise the golden “M” and the impossibly moreish menu of hamburgers, French fries and sweet shakes that have made it one of the industry’s leading names around the world; however, what many won’t know is the story behind the very first McDonald’s. For example, do you know the answer to questions like “When did the first McDonald’s open?” or “Where was the first McDonald’s restaurant?”

If not, welcome! In this article, we’re taking a dive into the history behind your local golden arches, and it’s a fascinating one.

According to the National Institutes of Health, McDonald’s opens close to 2,000 new restaurants every year. In other words, while they may not have known it then, the brothers who opened the first McDonald’s ever were embarking on a business venture that would become one of the most successful corporations the planet has ever seen.

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• Where Was the First McDonald’s Restaurant?
• The Story Behind the First McDonald’s Logo
• A McDonald’s History Timeline

Where Was the First McDonald’s Restaurant?

The first McDonald’s ever was opened by brothers Maurice and Richard McDonald. They moved there from New England, seeking opportunities unavailable in their home region, and they eventually found success in the form of the first McDonald’s restaurant.

So, where was the first McDonald’s, exactly? The brothers opened what would become the first of many locations — over 40,000 today — in San Bernardino, California.

When Did the First McDonald's Open?

The first McDonald’s opened in 1940. The brothers initially named it “McDonald’s Bar-B-Q,” with a menu focusing predominantly on barbecue food. However, they began to notice that much of their success at the first McDonald’s restaurant was due to the popularity of their hamburgers, and so they set about simplifying their menu.

In 1948, the McDonald brothers decided to streamline operations, and American diners started to see the early phases of the speedy service for which they know and love the chain today. In fact, the name for the system that they introduced at the first McDonald’s restaurant was the “Speedee Service” system.

What were prices like back then? Get this — the system featured hamburgers cooked ahead of time and priced at just 15 cents apiece. It was this new system (and, of course, the modest price paid by customers) that made the first McDonald’s such a strong model for the thousands more that would follow.

Is the First McDonald's Still Open?

Ever casted your mind back in time and wondered, “Is the first McDonald’s still open?” If you're someone who hopes to one day order the most popular McDonald’s items at the powerhouse franchise's first McDonald's, we have some disappointing news. In spite of the fact that a multi-billion dollar corporation was founded at the first McDonald’s restaurant in San Bernardino, it was demolished in 1972. 

Today, the site of the first McDonald’s is home to the Original McDonald’s Museum, where a collection of golden arches memorabilia can be found. And for those of you wondering, “If the first McDonald’s was demolished, where is the world’s oldest McDonald’s now?” The answer relates to the franchise's third-ever restaurant, built in 1953. That eatery, which is the oldest McDonald’s restaurant still in operation today, can be found in Downey, California. 

When Did the First McDonald's Drive-Thru Open?

You may think that the first McDonald’s drive-thru would naturally have been built at the world’s oldest McDonald’s. In fact, the first McDonald’s location to add drive-thru ordering to its offering was in Sierra Vista, Arizona, in January 1975. What’s more, if you think that McDonald’s came up with the drive-thru concept, think again!

McDonald’s today is synonymous with drive-thru dining; in fact, whether you're ordering a timeless hamburger or your favourite item from the McDonald’s secret menu, there's a good chance that you're doing it from the driver's seat. McDonald’s itself admits that drive-thru accounts for approximately 70% of business in the United States. 

However, for the corporation’s first two decades, this simply wasn’t the case. The idea to introduce the drive-thru came from rival fast-food chains operating on the West Coast, who had already incorporated the concept into their dining experiences. The plan was to install the first McDonald’s drive-thru in a store in Oklahoma. So how did the Arizona store achieve this first?

The need arose when it started to see a reduction in sales, due simply to the fact that soldiers based at Fort Huachuca had to remain in their cars when wearing their uniforms off-base. To solve the problem, the restaurant's licensee, David Rich, decided to install a sliding window into the wall so that they could do just that, all while still enjoying their favorite hamburgers and fries. 

The Story Behind the First McDonald’s Logo

The McDonald’s logo is perhaps the most recognizable in the world. Today’s version incorporates two arches to form the letter “M” and is the latest iteration of a string of similar logos since the early 1960s. Before that, there were three other designs.

The first was created in 1940 to reflect the first McDonald’s restaurant’s name, “McDonald’s Famous Barbecue.” The second evolved to “McDonald’s Hamburgers” in 1948 and the third became “McDonald’s Coast to Coast” in 1953 — an early indicator of the brand’s intention to grow. 

Slightly earlier, in 1952, Fontana-based architect Stanley Clark Meston came up with a new design for the restaurants themselves — a design the company hoped would help McDonald’s stand out for its originality. It worked, namely thanks to the incorporation of two golden arches. The first McDonald’s location to incorporate them was in Phoenix, Arizona.

The arches would become an icon recognized by fast food lovers everywhere, to the point that when it came to designing a new logo in 1962, they had become the most obvious source of inspiration. It was McDonald’s Head of Constructions and Engineering, Jim Schindler, who came up with the design.

After seeing the success of the first McDonald’s and eventually buying the brothers out of the business in 1961, Ray Kroc asked Fred Turner (future McDonald’s CEO) to come up with a new design. After trying his hand at the job himself, Turner quickly passed the job over to Schindler, who eventually conceptualized the original golden arches logo in 1968. The rest, as they say, is history.

A McDonald’s History Timeline

Wherever you are in the world, chances are that there is a McDonald’s restaurant nearby. But it wasn’t always that way. Although it's hard to believe today, the early years succeeding the origin of the first McDonald's saw only a handful of golden arches under which American diners could enjoy their fast food favourites. 

And while the oldest McDonald’s locations still operate as proof of that era, today, there are tens of thousands around the world. Here’s a breakdown of the key dates so far in the history of one of the world’s most successful corporations — from the introduction of the first McDonald's to more recent developments:

• 1940: The first McDonald’s is founded by brothers Dick (Richard) and Mac (Maurice) McDonald with their restaurant named “McDonald’s Bar-B-Q” in San Bernardino, California.

• 1948: The brothers close the first McDonald's for three months for alterations before reopening as a self-service drive-in restaurant. They do so with a reduced menu comprising 10 items:

  • Hamburgers
  • Cheeseburgers
  • Potato Chips
  • Milk
  • Milkshakes (chocolate, strawberry and vanilla)
  • Root Beer
  • Orangeade
  • Coca-Cola
  • Coffee
  • Pie

• 1949: French fries replace potato chips on the menu and triple-thick milkshakes are debuted.

• 1954: Ray Kroc, a seller of multimixers, visits the restaurant on business and finds himself fascinated. He learns that Dick and Mac are hoping to franchise across the country and decides that his future lies in hamburgers.

• 1955: The first McDonald’s franchise opens in Des Plaines, Illinois, under Ray Kroc.

• 1956: Fred Turner, future McDonald’s CEO, joins as a counterman for the Des Plaines restaurant. 

• 1961: McDonald’s opens Hamburger University in the basement of the restaurant in Elk Grove Village, Illinois. Graduates are awarded Bachelor of Hamburgerology degrees. 

• 1965: The Filet-O-Fish sandwich is added to the national menu.

• 1968: The Big Mac is added to the national menu.

• 1973: The Quarter Pounder and Quarter Pounder With Cheese are added to the national menu.

• 1975: The Egg McMuffin is added to the national menu.

• 1983: Chicken McNuggets are added to the national menu.

• 1984: Founder and Senior Chairman of McDonald’s Corporation, Ray Kroc, dies on January 14.

• 1990: The first McDonald’s restaurant opens in Moscow, Russia.

• 1993: The first McCafé opens in Melbourne, Australia.

• 1995: McFlurry desserts are added to McDonald’s Canada menu.

• 2003: McDonald’s first global ad campaign, “I’m Lovin’ It,” launches.

• 2015: McDonald’s USA launches an all-day McDonald’s breakfast menu.

• 2020: McDonald’s opens first net-zero restaurant at Walt Disney Resort, generating enough renewable energy on-site to cover all its energy needs on a net annual basis.

So, there you have it — a history of the first McDonald’s! Whether you found this article looking for an answer to the question, “Where was the first McDonald’s?”, hoping to discover where to find the oldest McDonald’s, or simply wanting to know more about your favorite fast-food chain, we hope that this guide has helped. 

Born from the dream of two brothers whose names are forever immortalized beneath the light of those iconic golden arches, it's a history that spans decades. It's also one of corporate America's greatest success stories. And since the brand continues to grow, both across the United States and worldwide, it's fair to say that there are plenty of chapters yet to be written. 

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