McDonald's first franchise (1955)
Ray Kroc opened his first franchised McDonald's in Des Plaines, Illinois, copying the McDonald brothers' successful San Bernardino store. The format — a limited menu produced fast and cheap — became the model for thousands of locations.
The Des Plaines store succeeded and Kroc licensed hundreds more outlets.
McDonald's grew into the world's largest restaurant chain by replication.
York Liquor's second licensed address is the same first step: a retailer copying its own store. Most such expansions stay small; only a rare few become chains.
