Where did McDonald's open the first restaurant with a modern drive-through window?

McDonald's opened the first restaurant with a modern drive-through window in Sierra Vista, Arizona.

The restaurant opened in 1975 near Fort Huachuca, a U.S. Army installation. Military personnel were not permitted to leave their vehicles while wearing certain uniforms, so a drive-through allowed them to order McDonald's food without entering the restaurant.

This location is an important branding and service milestone because the drive-through became more than a practical accommodation. It reinforced McDonald's identity around speed, convenience, and roadside access. The format later became a defining feature of the chain's restaurants worldwide.

The Sierra Vista location is often confused with San Bernardino, where the McDonald brothers developed their original streamlined restaurant concept, or Des Plaines, the site of Ray Kroc's first McDonald's restaurant. Those places are central to McDonald's history, but the first modern drive-through is associated with Sierra Vista.