The golden arches are instantly recognizable for anyone coming across them in the over 100 countries they can be found in.
When you see that crisp yellow letter on the bold red background, you know what you’re getting – it’s a safe bet on good food.
But confusingly there are some franchises, in the more than 41,000 locations the fast-food giant can be found dotted around the world, that for whatever reason they don’t don the popular colors.
According to McDonald’s, approximately 93 percent of the restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by independent local business owners.
But why on Earth would anyone willingly decide against using its signature colors?
Well, we’ll get to that shortly, but first let’s talk about the only McDonald’s in the world that has blue arches – turquoise to be precise.
The McDonald’s restaurant in Sedona, Arizona, is the only place in the world where you can find its ‘blue arches’ (Ted Soqui/Corbis via Getty Images)
Where is the only McDonald’s with blue arches?
Located in Sedona, Arizona, passers-by can find ‘the blue arches’ – doesn’t really work does it?
It is the only McDonald’s on the planet that has the colorway but other than the outside, it is like any other you’d find.
There’s no special menu, there’s not incredible feat of engineering inside or cool interior design… it’s just your standard Maccies.
So why make it blue?
The Sedona, Arizona McDonald’s is certainly unique (Reddit/BBBlaze999)
Why does the McDonald’s in Sedona, Arizona have blue arches?
Well, it was built back in 1993 and surprisingly city officials thought the golden arches would mar Sedona’s beautiful red rock landscape.
In order for the McDonald’s to go ahead, they imposed an order on them to change its otherwise yellow logo to the teal color.
Speaking about it to ABC 15, Cari Meyer, Senior Planner of the Department of Community Development for the City of Sedona, said: “McDonald’s was built in the early 1990s, right after the city was incorporated in 1989.
“Someone suggested it would be interesting if they did something else than golden arches to fit in with the identity that the city decided to establish.”
While the blue makes it unique, Sedona’s McDonald’s isn’t the only one to change its colorway.
A McDonald’s in Monterey, California, has black arches (Getty/Sebastiaan Kroes)
McDonald’s that don’t have golden arches
In Monterey, California, punters can find a McDonald’s with black arches, again for similar reasons to the Arizona branch, while the McDonald’s in Rocklin, California, boasts red arches.
Over in Europe there are more unconventional McDonald’s – in Paris, France, and Bruges, Belgium, white arches can be found outside two of its chains.
A McDonald’s in Paris has white arches (Pierre Suu/Getty Images)
The one in the ‘city of love’ is located on its flashy street, Avenue des Champs-Élysées, which boasts of many designer outlets such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Chanel and more, so the fast-food branch followed city orders to fit the Parisian architecture.