The McDonald brothers opened their original McDonald's restaurant in San Bernardino, California, in 1940.
Maurice and Richard McDonald opened the restaurant on West 14th Street and North E Street. It began as a drive-in barbecue restaurant, reflecting the car-oriented eating culture that was developing in Southern California.
The brothers later changed the business model. In 1948, they introduced a simplified self-service system focused on a smaller menu and rapid preparation. That operating idea became important to the McDonald's identity and eventually influenced the wider fast-food industry.
This original San Bernardino location is sometimes confused with the first restaurant associated with Ray Kroc's expansion. Kroc opened the first restaurant of the McDonald's System in Des Plaines, Illinois, in 1955. The brothers' 1940 restaurant, however, was the original McDonald's business.