Original McDonald's franchise (1955)
Ray Kroc opened the first McDonald's franchise in Des Plaines, Illinois, on April 15, 1955. Kroc was a milkshake mixer salesman who saw the McDonald brothers' restaurant as a formula he could replicate.
The Des Plaines location was an immediate success and became the template for franchising.
McDonald's grew into the world's largest fast-food chain, showing how a single restaurant concept can scale.
Like the 303 Sports Grill's Denver build-out, McDonald's expansion began with one operator preparing a space and securing the permissions needed to serve food.
