McDonald's Nederland started in 1970 through a joint venture between supermarket chain
Albert Heijn (
Ahold) and the McDonald's Corporation called Family Food N.V. The first European McDonald's restaurant opened in the Netherlands on 21 August 1971 at the Vermiljoenweg in
Zaandam led by franchisiee Jan Sybesma (1935–2014) In 1975, Ahold opted to end the joint venture due to declining sales. McDonald's acquired Ahold's stake and kept its restaurants in
Amsterdam Muntplein,
Rotterdam Coolsingel and
Voorburg, while the locations in Zaandam,
Delft, Amsterdam Middenweg and
The Hauge were sold and rebranded to Mr. Makkie. In 1988, McDonald's Nederland opened a training facility akin to
Hamburger University called Hamburger College at their headquarters in Amsterdam. In January 1994, Jan Sybesma stepped down as general director of the company and was succeeded by Rene Savelberg. that same month, it opened up its 100th restaurant in
Maastricht. In 2020, McDonald's Nederland announced that it would reduce its plastic by removing the lids on
McFlurries and switching from plastic straws to paper ones. In 2022, McDonald's Nederland moved its headquarters from Amsterdam to Utrecht. == Restaurants ==