McDonald’s first installed a drive-through window in 1975.
The first McDonald’s drive-through opened in Sierra Vista, Arizona, near Fort Huachuca. It was created partly to serve soldiers who could not leave their vehicles while wearing their uniforms, and the restaurant adapted the drive-in idea into a dedicated ordering and pickup window.
Drive-through service became a major part of McDonald’s operational branding. It reinforced the company’s long-standing identity around speed, convenience and standardized service, while allowing restaurants to serve customers without indoor dining.
The drive-through is sometimes confused with the earlier drive-in restaurant format, in which customers were served at parked vehicles. McDonald’s 1975 installation used a dedicated window and became the model for the modern service channel.