Ray Kroc opened the McDonald’s restaurant commonly recognized as the first Kroc-era location in Des Plaines, Illinois, in 1955.
Kroc had become interested in the McDonald brothers’ restaurant system after selling them Multimixers. He later secured a franchise arrangement and opened a restaurant at 400 North Lee Street in Des Plaines, creating a highly visible model for the system he would expand nationally.
The Des Plaines restaurant used the McDonald’s name and recognizable Golden Arches identity, helping establish the standardized appearance associated with the rapidly growing chain. A museum later occupied the site, although the original building was eventually demolished.
This fact is often confused with the first McDonald’s restaurant in San Bernardino, California, which was opened by the McDonald brothers in 1940. Des Plaines refers specifically to Kroc’s first restaurant in the expansion era.