Where did McDonald’s open its first franchised restaurant in 1953?

McDonald’s opened its first franchised restaurant in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1953.

The franchise was operated by Neil Fox, and the restaurant used the distinctive Golden Arches design associated with early McDonald’s buildings. Its opening demonstrated that the brothers’ standardized food and service model could be reproduced outside their original San Bernardino location.

Des Plaines, Illinois, is often named in connection with McDonald’s because Ray Kroc opened his first restaurant there in 1955. That restaurant was not the company’s first franchise overall. Downey, California, is also important because it retains one of the oldest surviving McDonald’s restaurant buildings, but it was not the first franchised location.