The business began in 1940, when brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald opened a restaurant at 1398 North E Street at West 14th Street in San Bernardino, California. The first McDonald’s with the arches opened in Phoenix, Arizona in March 1953.

The original mascot of McDonald’s was a man with a chef’s hat on top of a hamburger-shaped head whose name was “Speedee”. In 1962, the Golden Arches replaced Speedee as the company official symbol. Also the other new mascot, Ronald McDonald was introduced in 1965. Ronald McDonald is a clown like man having puffed out costume legs served advertising aimed at children.

On May 4, 1961, McDonald’s first filed for a U.S. trademark on the name “McDonald’s” with the description “Drive-In Restaurant Services”. McDonald’s restaurants are found in 120 countries and territories around the world and serve 68 million customers everyday. McDonald’s operates 36,899 restaurants worldwide, employing more than 375,000 people.

In the United States, it is reported that drive-throughs account for 70 percent of sales. McDonald’s plans to close 184 restaurants in the United States in 2015, which is 59 more than it plans to open. This is the first time McDonald’s will have a net decrease in the number of locations in the United States since 1970.

McDonald’s today is more than 80% worldwide and nearly 90% in the U.S. The restaurants are owned and operated by approximately 5,000 independent, small and mid-sized businessmen and women.