What name did McDonald's use for its original 1948 quick-service system?

McDonald's called its original 1948 quick-service system the Speedee Service System.

Richard and Maurice McDonald redesigned their San Bernardino, California, restaurant after closing it temporarily in 1948. They reduced the menu, emphasized hamburgers, fries, and milkshakes, and organized food preparation around speed and consistency. The system was an important early step toward the standardized fast-food model.

Speedee was also represented by a chef-like cartoon mascot, often shown with a hamburger-shaped head. That character appeared in early McDonald's advertising before Ronald McDonald became the company's best-known mascot. The name is sometimes confused with later branding because the restaurant's first mascot and its service system shared the Speedee name.

Ray Kroc later expanded McDonald's nationally, but the operational idea originated with the McDonald brothers. The Speedee concept helped establish branding based not only on symbols and characters, but also on a recognizable promise of fast, uniform service.