SIERRA VISTA, Ariz. (KGUN) — On, Jan. 24, 1975, the McDonald's in Sierra Vista opened the company's first-ever drive-thru.
“It's pretty amazing that happened in Sierra Vista,” owner-operator, LeAnn Richards said.
The single-lane drive-thru has since been expanded to two lanes. Richards says the drive-thru accounts for 70% of the business they have at that location.
The window was created by the then-owner to serve military members. In October, 1974, service members on Fort Huachuca were told they couldn't enter businesses in their uniforms.
"(That owner) almost lost 50% of his business," said owner-operator, Tashina Freeman. "He said, ‘Well, I need to serve customers, so I'm going to have them pull up and I'm going to hand them their food.'"
Then he started hearing about drive-thrus, and said, ‘Well, I'll just put a hole in the wall, and they'll drive up and we'll start doing that,'” Freeman said.
Now, they've been serving customers through a drive-thru window for 50 years.
"Fort Huachuca is very important to us, and they are part of our clientele, a part of our community," Freeman said. "Without them, you know, Sierra Vista would probably struggle.”
The original window is on display at the Henry F. Hauser Museum in Sierra Vista, but the original building was torn down many years ago.
“It's the first drive-thru and we're proud of that," Freeman said. "We'll do our best to serve our community every day that we're here and continue to have this business. And it is important to us. And so, yeah just carrying on that legacy as best as we can.”
She's is a third-generation owner of the Sierra Vista location, purchasing the business from Richards — her mom — in 2023. For Freeman and her mom, it's the community impact the business has that keeps them going.
“It's the American dream, right?" Richards said. "You own your own business, you innovate, you create things, you help develop people.
"You change people's lives (and give them) an opportunity for a future that they didn't have before.”
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Alexis Ramanjulu is a reporter in Cochise County for KGUN 9. She began her journalism career reporting for the Herald/Review in Sierra Vista, which she also calls home. Share your story ideas with Alexis by emailing alexis.ramanjulu@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook.
