What was McDonald's original 1940 restaurant name before the company adopted its modern branding?

McDonald's original 1940 restaurant name was “McDonald's Bar-B-Q.” Richard and Maurice McDonald opened the drive-in restaurant in San Bernardino, California, under that name before transforming the business.

The early restaurant offered barbecue items and operated as a drive-in with carhop service. In 1948, the brothers closed it temporarily, removed most of the barbecue menu, and reopened with a much smaller menu centered on hamburgers, cheeseburgers, fries, milkshakes, and soft drinks.

That 1948 reorganization created the Speedee Service System. The new operating model emphasized standardized preparation and rapid service, laying the foundation for the modern fast-food chain. The restaurant's name and branding later shifted toward the simpler McDonald's identity.

“McDonald's Bar-B-Q” is not the same as the later “McDonald's Famous Hamburgers” wording or the Golden Arches symbol. It belongs to the company's first restaurant phase, before the streamlined hamburger-focused brand emerged.