In what California city did the McDonald brothers open their first restaurant?

The McDonald brothers opened their first restaurant in San Bernardino, California.

Richard and Maurice McDonald began their restaurant business there in 1940. The location became especially important after they redesigned operations in 1948, replacing a broad drive-in menu with a faster, more standardized self-service format.

San Bernardino is also connected with the later history of the brand through the McDonald brothers' original restaurant site and the development of their production-line approach. Ray Kroc encountered the brothers' system years later and helped expand it nationally through franchising.

This fact is sometimes confused with Des Plaines, Illinois, which is associated with Ray Kroc's first McDonald's franchise restaurant. Des Plaines was not the brothers' original restaurant city.