In late 1953, with only a rendering of Meston 's design in hand, the brothers began seeking franchisees. Their first franchisee was Neil Fox, a distributor for General Petroleum Corporation. Fox 's stand, the first with Meston 's golden arches design, opened in May 1953 at 4050 North Central Avenue at Indian School Road in Phoenix, Arizona. Their second franchisee was the team of Fox 's brother - in - law Roger Williams and Burdette "Bud '' Landon, both of whom also worked for General Petroleum. Williams and Landon opened their stand on 18 August 1953 at 10207 Lakewood Boulevard in Downey, California. The Downey stand has the distinction of being the oldest surviving McDonald 's restaurant. The Downey stand was never required to comply with the McDonald 's Corporation 's remodeling and updating requests over the years because it was franchised not by the McDonald 's Corporation, but by the McDonald brothers themselves to Williams and Landon.
when did the first mcdonald's franchise open
May 1953