McDonald's introduced the Speedee Service System in 1948 as its early fast-service restaurant concept.
Richard and Maurice McDonald redesigned their San Bernardino, California, restaurant around a limited menu, assembly-line preparation, and rapid customer service. The system was marketed under the Speedee name, emphasizing speed rather than the broader brand identity McDonald's later developed.
This operating idea helped distinguish the restaurant from traditional drive-ins, where customers often received larger menus and table-side car service. The McDonald brothers' system became an important foundation for the chain's later growth and franchising.
People sometimes confuse 1948 with 1955, the year Ray Kroc opened the first restaurant operated by his McDonald's System, Inc. The earlier date refers to the McDonald brothers' service model and restaurant redesign. The Speedee concept therefore belongs to the formative pre-Kroc phase of McDonald's branding history.