Richard and Maurice McDonald opened their first restaurant in San Bernardino, California, in 1940.
The brothers’ original business was a drive-in barbecue restaurant called McDonald’s Bar-B-Q. It used the carhop model common in the United States at the time and offered a relatively broad menu. This was the starting point for the business that later became the McDonald’s fast-food chain.
In 1948, the brothers reorganized the restaurant around a limited menu and a faster production system. That change was branded as the Speedee Service System and established many practices associated with modern fast food, including standardized preparation and counter service. The Golden Arches and later national advertising campaigns came after this foundational period.
The 1940 date is sometimes confused with 1948, the year of the major service redesign, or 1955, the year Ray Kroc opened the franchised Des Plaines restaurant often associated with the corporation’s expansion. Those are separate milestones: 1940 marks the McDonald brothers’ first restaurant.