Richard and Maurice McDonald introduced their Speedee Service System at their restaurant in San Bernardino, California.
The brothers opened their first McDonald’s restaurant there in 1940, initially operating it as a drive-in barbecue restaurant. In 1948, they reorganized the business around a limited menu and standardized production methods. The new approach emphasized hamburgers, fries, and beverages prepared quickly and consistently.
The system became a foundation of modern fast-food branding because the restaurant’s identity was tied not only to its name and signs but also to a clearly defined service promise. The early Speedee character visually represented that promise before later branding centered on the Golden Arches and Ronald McDonald.
San Bernardino is sometimes confused with Des Plaines, Illinois, where Ray Kroc opened an early franchised McDonald’s restaurant in 1955. The brothers’ original operation and Kroc’s early franchise were important locations, but they served different stages in the company’s history.