Contrary to popular belief,³ the first McDonald's franchise, and the first McDonald's to feature the infamous golden arches was located not in California, nor in Illinois. It was built right here in Phoenix, two years before Ray Kroc met the McDonald brothers.⁴

The McDonald brothers hired a local architect to design a distinctive store to serve as a prototype for the chain they wanted to build. The architect came up with a gaudy red and white tiled rectangular building with a roof that slanted sharply down from the front. The font half of the building was glass from counter to ceiling so customers could see the kitchen from the outside where they placed their orders. There was no inside seating.⁵

The architect's design lacked the most distinctive feature of the early franchise: the golden arches. The McDonalds thought the building lacked something, and penciled a huge arch, nearly twice the building's height, on each side. The architect was appalled. He told the brothers that if they insisted on keeping the arches, he would have nothing to do with the design. Fortunately, the brothers found a sign maker with no such aesthetic compunction who happily added the arches after the architect's work was done.⁶

The McDonalds sold their first franchise license to Phoenix gasoline retailer, Neil Fox, in 1952 for a one-time fee of $1,000. Once the "Speedy Service System" restaurant design was completed, the brothers anticipated no further connection with the operation, receiving no revenues from the store, and exercising no control. They expected Fox to call his store "Fox's". When he informed them that he wanted to call it "McDonald's", the brothers were floored! "'What the hell for?' Dick McDonald asked Fox. ' 'McDonald's' means nothing in Phoenix.'"⁷

The name "McDonald's" means considerably more today. It is the world's third most valuable brand name (behind Marlboro and Coca-Cola). There are more than 23,000 McDonald's restaurants worldwide. Its 12,300 stores in the U.S. give it 42% of the nation's fast-food hamburger business, but 60% of its sales and profits come from other countries.⁸

And what happened to the original McDonald's franchise site? The first building was replaced with the archless version of the 1960's, and that version has also been torn down. The McDonald's on Central has moved to the East side of the street, about 1/2 block South of the original site. The original restaurant has been joined by two more McDonald's on Central, and by more than 80 in the Phoenix metropolitan area.⁹

1. I take my facts where I find them. "Best of Phoenix 1996" 3-D Coaster Set, Phoenix New Times, (Phoenix, 1996). A native Phoenician also confirmed it, "Yup. That's where it was." Back
2. John F. Love, McDonald's, Behind the Arches, Bantam Books (New York, 1986), p. 20, 22.Back
3. "The McDonald's Story," mcdonalds.com, (McDonalds Corporation, 1998). Back
4. Love, Ibid, p. 20. Back
5. Ibid. Back
6. Ibid, p. 21. Back
7. Ibid, p. 22. Back
8. Hoover's Company Capsule, Hoover's, Inc. (Austin, Texas 1998). Back
9. I can count! I looked the phone book. There they were--all listed, complete with addresses and phone numbers. "Metro Phoenix Business", Metro Phoenix, The White Pages, U. S. West Direct (Englewood, CO 1997), p. 262. Back