The McDonald brothers opened their redesigned self-service McDonald’s restaurant in San Bernardino in 1948.
Richard and Maurice McDonald first opened a drive-in restaurant in 1940, but they closed it temporarily in 1948 to reorganize the business. When it reopened, the restaurant used a streamlined counter-service model focused on a small menu, especially hamburgers, fries, and milkshakes.
This redesign became the foundation of McDonald’s later brand identity. Instead of presenting itself as a conventional drive-in with many menu choices, the restaurant emphasized speed, standardization, and low prices. Those ideas later shaped the franchise model developed by Ray Kroc.
A common mix-up places the beginning of McDonald’s in 1955, the year Kroc opened his first McDonald’s franchise in Des Plaines, Illinois. The company’s earlier San Bernardino restaurant predates that event and is central to the chain’s branding and operating history.