What name did McDonald’s give its first self-service restaurant system, introduced by the McDonald brothers?

McDonald’s called its first self-service restaurant system the Speedee Service System.

Richard and Maurice McDonald introduced the system at their redesigned restaurant in San Bernardino, California, in 1948. It emphasized a limited menu, standardized preparation, assembly-line production, and fast counter service.

The system changed the restaurant’s identity from a conventional drive-in to a highly efficient hamburger operation. Its name connected the business to Speedee, the early mascot associated with speed.

The Speedee Service System is not the same thing as the later golden-arches logo or the McDonaldland advertising world. It was an operating model, although its emphasis on speed influenced McDonald’s broader brand promise.