One of the UK's favourite fast-food restaurants is celebrating its milestone birthday this year. It's been 50-years since McDonald's opened its very first restaurant in Britain.
In October 1974, the UK's first McDonald's opened in Woolwich, south east London. It would be the first of what are now around 1,300 restaurants across the UK, employing more than 120,000 people.
With the success of the chain, it might surprise some to know that Manchester didn't get it's first McDonald's until nearly a decade later. In fact, the first 50 of the hugely popular fast food chain's branches were all opened in or around London.
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Compared to today, the restaurants themselves would be barely recognisable. From the branding and décor to the menu items, and of course, their now side-lined company mascot Ronald McDonald and his arch nemesis The Hamburglar.
But the restaurant's popularity has continued to grow and now, according to the company's website, there are 29 McDonald's in Manchester alone. So to celebrate the milestone birthday, we've taken a look back at some of the the restaurants firsts in the region.
Manchester's first McDonald's restaurant
The opening of the first McDonald's restaurant in Manchester marked two milestones - it was not only the first in the city but also McDonald's 100th restaurant to open in the UK. Opening on Market Street on January 11, 1983, the first Manchester restaurant was located where Barclay's bank is today.
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The opening day was eventful in itself, as the Manchester Evening News reported fire crews were dispatched prior to opening after an alarm was accidentally triggered by caterers preparing the buffet for the champagne reception. Opened at a cost of £1.2 million, the two floor restaurant could seat 200 and employed 100 workers. The branch also became the regional headquarters of the company as it expanded further across Greater Manchester.
First McDonald's drive-through in Britain
An unremarkable looking McDonald's restaurant in Manchester has the honour of being the first of its kind in Britain. Just pipping the likes of Dudley, Neasden (London) and Coventry to the post, the very first drive-through opened on Wilmslow Road, Fallowfield, in the summer of 1986.
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Unlike the other locations, little fuss was made of the event in the local press of the pioneering restaurant. The only mention of the Fallowfield drive-through was a year earlier in 1985, when the Manchester Evening News reported that bulldozers had cleared the way for creation of the restaurant the following July. Originally, Manchester city council had rejected plans for the building of the drive-through but councillors finally relented.
The Fallowfield restaurant was the first of several McDonald's drive-throughs that opened shortly after in the same year. McDonald's now have over 900 drive-through restaurants spread out across the UK. But as for the very first, well, that will always be in Fallowfield.
Trafford Centre's original McDonald's restaurant
Of course, there is still a McDonald's in The Orient food court, but it's much smaller than the original Trafford Centre restaurant. Originally part of the Festival Village area, the old McDonald's underwent considerable renovation in the mid-2000s.
The original McDonald's restaurant entrance was shaped like a giant carton of fries next to an enormous soft drink cup. Inside, moving figures of Ronald McDonald and the Hamburglar travelled around an overhead track.
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The first McDonald's touch screens and table service in the UK were trialled in Greater Manchester
It's now a staple in almost every McDonald's restaurant, but making an order via a touch screen and then have your food served at your table was first trialled in Greater Manchester. In 2015, the Mottram Junction branch on Stockport Road in Hyde had the country's first self-service kiosks up and running.
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Diners were, for the first time, able to pick a zone to sit in and pay for their food at the machine, before sitting down to relax. Staff would then bring their food to them at their table.
David Kochanski, assistant manager, said the scheme had been a resounding success after launching three months earlier. "People can walk into the restaurant, pick a zone and go and sit there, and our managers will bring their order to the table," he explained.
"They bring condiments over, make sure they are okay. It’s going extremely well and getting really positive feedback. It makes McDonald’s more like a restaurant, 100 per cent."
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