At which 1950s McDonald’s restaurant did Ray Kroc open his first franchise?

Ray Kroc opened his first McDonald’s franchise in Des Plaines, Illinois, in 1955.

Kroc had been selling the Multimixer milkshake machine when he learned that the McDonald brothers were using several machines at their busy San Bernardino restaurant. He visited them, became convinced that their operating system could expand, and obtained franchising rights.

The Des Plaines restaurant opened on April 15, 1955, at 400 North Lee Street. It helped demonstrate how a standardized McDonald’s restaurant could be reproduced beyond California. Kroc’s new company later bought the McDonald brothers’ business and expanded the chain nationwide.

Des Plaines is often confused with Oak Brook, Illinois, which became McDonald’s corporate headquarters in 1971. San Bernardino was the location of the brothers’ original restaurant, not Kroc’s first franchise. The Des Plaines site is therefore a key place in the company’s branding and expansion story.