Store No. 25,000-each is numbered for internal operations and auditing purposes-will sit in a rehabilitated neighborhood of south Chicago called Bronzeville. McDonald's Chief Executive Jack M. Greenberg gave the big number to this site because he thought it supported the chain's all-American image. Initially, McDonald's wasn't going to make much of the event. "We might have an internal toast," Greenberg said recently. Now, though, he is planning to introduce the restaurant's operator, Ilene Porter, a new franchisee, to shareholders at the annual meeting next week.

Greenberg also sent a short "Dear McFamily" memo this week to employees, franchisees and suppliersmarking "a moment of pride" for the corporation. "While it is one restaurant among thousands, it is a significant achievement for all of us, the result of all our collective efforts," he wrote.

It has taken 44 years for McDonald's to grow from Kroc's first restaurant, in Des Plaines, Illinois, to the store Porter will run. McDonald's, based in Oak Brook, Illinois, opened its l0,000th restaurant in 1988, in a suburb of Washington.

McDonald's went outside the US in 1967, into Canada. Today, McDonald's is selling food in 115 countries. About half its restaurants are outside the US. The business that perhaps comes closest to McDonald's is US-based 7-Eleven Inc., with 18,625 convenience stores. BP-Amoco PLC, London, has about 16,000 gas stations.

Other fast-food chains remain far behind McDonald's. Burger King, a unit of Diageo PLC, London, opened its 10,000th restaurant in November, in Australia. While Tricon Global Restaurants Inc., of the US, has several thousand more retail outlets worldwide thanMcDonald's, they represent three brands: 12,285 Pizza Huts, 10,423 KFCs and 7,055 Taco Bells, as of December 31. Wendy's International Inc. has about 7,000 restaurants globally, Domino's Pizza Inc., owned by investment firm Bain Capital Inc. 6,100. Both chains are based in the US.

The Asian Wall Street Journal