When McDonald’s ‘ruled the High Desert’

Nearly 7,700 excited residents showed up to the grand opening of the High Desert’s first McDonald’s located on Seventh Street in Victorville.

In 1973, franchise owner George Feldman and his team dubbed the new store “The largest, most modern, most elaborate McDonald’s West of the Mississippi,” the Daily Press reported.

With a drive-thru, outdoor seating area, basement storage area and modern look, the new McDonald’s would become competition for smaller competitors, including the Victor Valley’s first Del Taco, which was located across the street. The Del Taco opened in 1967.

McDonald’s would also face off against Jack in the Box, a larger and more nationally known restaurant, which opened in 1969 on the corner of Seventh Street and La Paz Drive in Victorville.

“Back then, most of our fast food burgers came from mom-and-pop restaurants like Naugles and Lotta Burger,” said Steve Mayfield, a former Victorville resident. “But when McDonald’s came to town, they blew everyone else away and ruled the High Desert for a long time.”

Big Mac road trips

On Jan. 16, 1973, and hours before McDonald’s officially opened, nearly three dozen Daily Press “newspaper boys,” who had won subscription contests, were given the opportunity for an all-you-can-eat hamburger feast.

After the store opened, people from as far away as Barstow and Wrightwood would regularly drive to Victorville for Big Macs, hamburgers, french fries, milkshakes, hot apple pies and other menu items.

Barstow wouldn’t get a McDonald’s until July 1975, when Feldman opened a restaurant at Barstow Station.

“When we were kids, my parents would drive us to the McDonald’s in Victorville at least twice a month,” said former Barstow resident Patricia Jacobs, who lives in Las Vegas. “We had heard about McDonald’s on TV, but we never ate there until they came to Victorville.”

Customers would also enjoy the new seasonal Shamrock Shake, and new Egg McMuffin, which introduced morning hours and an expanding breakfast menu.

McDonald's also drew a steady stream of service men and women, and their families, from George Air Force Base, now the Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville.

During lunchtime and after school, students from nearby Victor Valley High School would pour into the new restaurant.

Ronald McDonald comes to down

McDonald’s grand opening festivities in February 1973 included an appearance by Ronald McDonald and the Rascally Hamburglar appearing on the Golden Arches stage.

The event also introduced McDonald Land, which welcomed visitors to a place with “milkshake mountains,” “flapping hamburgers” and a “potato patch.”

In the ‘70s, average menu prices at McDonald’s included a Big Mac or Quarter Pounder for under 80 cents, hamburgers and cheeseburgers under 40 cents, and large fries for under 50 cents.

“The grand opening was a treat because we finally had the chance to meet Ronald McDonald, who we knew from TV,” said Victorville native Jessica Turner, who lives in Chino Hills. “And most of us had never eaten at McDonald’s so having a restaurant in Victorville was great.”

Winning a $100 bike

John McGinn, 11, from Victorville and Greg Forsberg of Hesperia each attended the opening celebration, where they ate, participated in festivities and each won a new 10-speed bicycle.

“It was a very big deal getting a McDonald’s in Victorville,” McGinn recently told the Daily Press. “Half the people in town were there.”

McGinn’s population estimation was pretty accurate since the U.S. Census Bureau reported less than 15,000 people lived in Victorville at that time.

McGinn, who bought three bike raffle tickets at the event, was excited when Ronald McDonald called his winning number, he said.

“I made my way through all these people and up to the stage,” said McGinn, who still lives in the Victor Valley. “I’ll never forget all those people looking at me up there.”

McGinn stated that his bike was worth $100, which “was a lot of money back then.” He added that the bike was so tall that his feet could barely reach the ground.

McGinn said he only had a chance to ride his new bike twice before someone stole it off of his front porch.

“I was very sad about that,” he said.

The Victorville store celebrated its 1st anniversary with a “Holiday Party,” which included the store giving away 1,500 movie tickets, and 1,500 hamburger meals, along with free bicycles and Hamburglar dolls.

Hungry for Big Macs

Victor Valley High graduate Susan Conway shared how in the ‘60s, her parents would take her and her siblings clothes shopping at the Inland Center Mall in San Bernardino.

“While we were down there, we’d stop to eat at McDonald’s, where I’d always get a Big Mac,” said Conway, who graduated in 1979. “I still like them, but I can’t eat them like I used to.”

Conway said while her fellow high school classmates would flock to McDonald’s for lunch, she and her friends would visit Del Taco.

“Del Taco is still my addiction, but I do love McDonald’s french fries,” Conway said. “Every Monday, my granddaughter and I order pancakes and enjoy them with my mother at her house.”

Conway admitted she started working at Wendy’s soon after it opened in 1978 on Seventh Street in Victorville while her sister, Laura, worked down the street at McDonald’s.

By 2004, the Seventh Street McDonald's would close and make way for Johnny Rebs' Southern Road House followed by Gridiron Pizza.

Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227 or RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: When McDonald’s ‘ruled the High Desert’