Where did Ray Kroc open the first McDonald's restaurant operated by his franchise company in 1955?

Ray Kroc opened his first McDonald's restaurant operated by his franchise company in Des Plaines, Illinois, in 1955.

Kroc had become interested in the McDonald brothers' efficient restaurant system after supplying them with multiple-mixer milkshake machines. He obtained franchise rights and opened the Des Plaines restaurant on April 15, 1955.

The site became a key part of McDonald's corporate history because it demonstrated how the brothers' operating model could be expanded through franchising. A replica of the restaurant and a museum were later established at the location.

The Des Plaines restaurant was not the first McDonald's restaurant overall. The brothers opened their original restaurant in San Bernardino in 1940, and their redesigned self-service concept began there in 1948. Des Plaines was Kroc's landmark entry into the chain's expansion.