In McDonald's history, where did the first McDonald's drive-thru open in 1975?

McDonald's first drive-thru opened in Sierra Vista, Arizona, in 1975.

The location served soldiers from nearby Fort Huachuca, making a drive-through practical for customers who could not easily enter the restaurant while wearing military uniforms. The format allowed customers to order and receive food from their vehicles.

Drive-through service became one of McDonald's most influential customer-facing innovations. It changed the visual and operational design of many restaurants by adding speaker systems, dedicated lanes, menu boards, and pickup windows.

The Sierra Vista opening is not the same event as McDonald's first restaurant in Des Plaines or the brothers' original location in San Bernardino. Those sites are important to company history, but neither was the first McDonald's drive-thru.