The original McDonald brothers’ McDonald’s restaurant opened in California.
Richard and Maurice McDonald opened their first restaurant in San Bernardino, California, in 1940. The business began as a drive-in restaurant, but the brothers later developed a faster, more standardized service model. In 1948 they reorganized the operation around a limited menu and counter service, an important step toward the modern McDonald’s identity.
Their system emphasized speed, repetition, and consistent portions. Those ideas later attracted Ray Kroc, who became the driving force behind the chain’s nationwide and international expansion. Kroc’s first restaurant was in Illinois, which is why the origins are often incorrectly placed there.
California is therefore the state tied to the McDonald brothers’ original restaurant, while Illinois is tied to Kroc’s first McDonald’s location. Keeping those two milestones separate prevents a common branding-history mistake.