Ray Kroc founded the McDonald’s Corporation after opening the chain’s first franchised restaurant in Des Plaines.
Kroc was a milkshake-mixer salesman who became interested in the McDonald brothers’ unusually efficient restaurant operation. He obtained franchising rights and opened a McDonald’s location in Des Plaines, Illinois, in 1955. That restaurant helped turn the brothers’ local system into a rapidly expanding national brand.
The Des Plaines location was not the first McDonald’s restaurant; the brothers had opened their original San Bernardino business in 1940. It was, however, Kroc’s first McDonald’s franchise and an important milestone in the company’s corporate history.
Kroc’s role can be confused with that of the McDonald brothers, who created the original restaurant and service system. The brothers supplied the initial concept, while Kroc built the franchising organization that spread the brand and standardized its presentation across the United States.