McDonald’s introduced the drive-through format at its first drive-through location in 1975.
The restaurant opened in Sierra Vista, Arizona, near Fort Huachuca. The location served customers who wanted to order and receive food without leaving their vehicles, adding convenience to McDonald’s existing fast-service identity.
Drive-through service became a major part of McDonald’s branding because it extended the company’s promise of speed beyond the restaurant counter. Signs, lane markings, menu boards and recognizable architectural cues helped make the format easy to identify.
The 1975 opening is sometimes confused with the first drive-in restaurants, where customers were served at parked cars. McDonald’s drive-through used a dedicated lane and ordering window, a different operating model. It also predates the later dominance of digital ordering and mobile pickup, which added new access points without replacing the drive-through.