The three signatories were big names in the American company - Robert Rhea, Fred Turner and Ray Kroc - but none of them turned up. Instead the ribbon was cut by the dynamic duo of Ed 'Stewpot' Stewart, Radio 1 DJ, and Len Squirrell, Mayor of Greenwich. Ed and Len stood outside the store in Powis Street, both sporting a jacket and tie, and addressed a decent-sized crowd.
Inside the restaurant on 13th November 1974 some lucky children were offered hats and balloons. Most of the space was laid out with small wooden tables, each with an ashtray. The menu rested on an easel by the tills and was also written in plastic letters on boards behind the counter. Tom and Ed worked in the kitchen flipping and assembling burgers. Soft drinks included lemonade and orange, none of your branded nonsense. Opening hours were 10am to 11pm, so no breakfasts.
The restaurant's first manager was Paul Preston who'd been shipped in from Ohio. In 1991, now the boss of McDonald's UK, he recalled the opening days in an interview in the Evening Standard.
"I remember that no one bought food. One man had a cup of tea six times, and people asked what french fries were. I still remember the cleaners, Mary and Gladys - they couldn't get the tiles to shine properly because of bad grouting. It was a devil. Woolwich is still very dear to me."
"Demographically, the town parallelled the country. We decided that if we could crack Woolwich, we could crack Britain. We thought, if we fight this battle we'll win. And there's no doubt now who won."
In 1974 the United Tastes of America meal consisted of a hamburger, small fries and a shake for 45p. The nearest equivalent today is the Happy Meal for £3.59.
As well as being England's first McDonald's it was also the company's 3000th worldwide.
Today there are over 41000 McDonald's globally with 1453 in the UK.
The growth of UK McDonald's 1974:1st: Woolwich 1983:100th: Market Street, Manchester 1986:200th: Ipswich 1988:300th: Dagenham 1991:400th: Belfast 1993:500th: Notting Hill Gate 1995:600th: Woodall motorway service area (M1) 1996:700th: Trocadero, Piccadilly Circus 1997:800th: County Hall, South Bank 2000:1000th: Millennium Dome
And the first UK McDonald's is still there at 56-58 Powis Street.
I dropped by for a throwback experience and attempted to buy a hamburger... with cash.
Gone are the days when customers queued patiently at the counter. They now submit their orders via large touchscreen kiosks, of which Woolwich has 8. A sticker at the top says "contactless payment preferred", indeed there's no slot for coins or notes. But I'd done my homework online before I arrived and knew the trick which is to cancel your transaction just before the end. This brings up a 'Card transaction has failed' screen with options including 'Pay at counter'. One till remains because they haven't ditched cardless customers yet.
It took me a while to realise that you have to pay at the counter before they start making your order. It also took the lady who makes the drinks a few minutes to spot that I was hanging around hoping to pay with coins. Once I'd got my 1p change I stood back and waited for my order number to reach the top of the board. It's all gone very Argos at McDonald's lately, a crowd of customers standing back waiting until their number's called. What's different is that your orders are now interspersed with bikeboys nudging forward to collect bagged-up treats for customers at home, which may help explain why I ended up waiting for ages.
In the early days all sorts of burger options were waiting cooked and ready on racks so that the server could just walk over and pick them up and bag them for you. These days it feels more like a production line from scratch to avoid undue wastage, or so I thought as I watched the crew working through their individual tasks, over and over, without ever getting to mine. In the end it took them ten minutes and it wasn't even lunchtime yet. Hardly fast food.
I was struck by quite how many bits of paper were used just to deliver me a hamburger. A numbered slip printed by the original touchscreen was swapped at the till for a much longer receipt. This was then scrunched up by the server as they handed me my bagged burger, on which was stuck a sticker they'd been using to coordinate my order, and of course the burger was wrapped in an extra ketchup-stained sheet too. I don't think you get all that if you opt for table service.
The hamburger I unwrapped was quite nostalgic, tasting as if it could have been made in 1974, 1986, 2002 or whatever. The dill pickles and mustard never change. It's neither especially filling nor especially good for you, but at £1.19 it's still amongst the cheapest hot foods you can buy on a high street. I guess making you do all the work when ordering (13 touchscreen presses ffs!) helps keep prices down.
Fifty years of McDonald's in the UK has helped transform our takeaway options, or at least kickstarted the breadth of cuisine now available on our high streets. Or at least that's what I thought, but when I walked up and down Powis Street for ten minutes the only other takeaways were Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, German Doner Kebab, Taco Bell and Greggs. There is a Wimpy round the corner but it's not in Powis Street and might have been there even longer than McDonald's.
The current franchisee is Taimoor Sheikh who owns and operates the Woolwich restaurant and eight other McDonald's in south east London. He's risen to the occasion by putting on a very special offer if you turn up this morning to celebrate the store's 50th birthday. Facepainting and 'Instagram Corner' probably aren't your thing, but the first 50 customers after 11am will receive a complimentary medium meal. Maybe they're saving the large option for the centenary.
Get down there sharpish if you're interested. And your arteries will thank you if you miss out.
