The first McDonald's restaurant franchised by Ray Kroc in 1955 was in Des Plaines, Illinois.
Kroc opened the restaurant on April 15, 1955, at 400 North Lee Street. It became the ninth McDonald's location overall and served as a model for the operating and visual standards he wanted franchisees to follow.
The Des Plaines site is often called the first McDonald's under Kroc, but it was not the first McDonald's restaurant. The McDonald brothers had opened their original restaurant in San Bernardino, California, in 1948. Kroc's importance was turning their system into a rapidly expanding national franchise business.
The original Des Plaines building was later reconstructed as a museum. It is also commonly confused with McDonald's corporate headquarters, which moved to Oak Brook in 1971 and later to Chicago.