What was McDonald’s name before it was shortened to simply “McDonald’s” in 1948?

Before it was shortened to “McDonald’s,” the restaurant was called “McDonald’s Bar-B-Q.”

Richard and Maurice McDonald opened their drive-in restaurant in San Bernardino, California, in 1940. Its original identity centered on barbecue and a broad carhop menu rather than the limited hamburger-focused system that later made the company famous.

In 1948, the brothers closed the restaurant temporarily, reorganized the operation, and reopened it as a self-service hamburger restaurant. That change accompanied a major shift in the business model: fewer menu items, faster preparation, and standardized service.

The earlier name is often confused with the later McDonald’s brand or with the brothers’ surname. “McDonald’s Bar-B-Q” describes the original restaurant identity, while the shortened name matched the streamlined hamburger concept introduced after the 1948 reorganization.