Which McDonald's restaurant became the first to open a drive-through window in 1975?

McDonald's restaurant in Sierra Vista, Arizona, became the first to open a drive-through window in 1975.

The location was near Fort Huachuca, a U.S. Army base, and its drive-through was intended to serve soldiers who could not leave their vehicles while wearing fatigues. This practical local solution became an important innovation for the wider McDonald's operating model.

Drive-through service allowed customers to order and receive food without entering the restaurant. It later became a major part of McDonald's identity, especially as automobile-oriented restaurant design expanded across suburban areas.

The first drive-through is sometimes incorrectly attributed to a large city such as Phoenix or to the Des Plaines location associated with Ray Kroc. The historically cited first McDonald's drive-through was in Sierra Vista.