Which McDonald's location opened the first restaurant drive-thru in 1975?

McDonald's opened its first restaurant drive-thru in Sierra Vista, Arizona, in 1975.

The location served a practical need connected with nearby military personnel, who could not always leave their vehicles while wearing parts of their uniforms. The drive-thru window allowed customers to order and collect food without entering the restaurant.

This innovation became a major part of McDonald's visual and operational identity. The familiar drive-thru lane, menu board, speaker, and pickup window later became standard features of fast-food branding around the world.

The first drive-thru is sometimes confused with McDonald's earliest restaurant or its earliest surviving building. The original McDonald brothers restaurant opened in San Bernardino, California, while the drive-thru milestone occurred decades later in Arizona.