McDonald’s original name was McDonald’s Bar-B-Q when Richard and Maurice McDonald opened their first restaurant in 1940.
The brothers opened the drive-in restaurant in San Bernardino, California. It began as a barbecue-focused business with a broad menu and carhop service, reflecting the dominant American drive-in restaurant model of the period.
In 1948, the brothers closed the restaurant temporarily and reorganized it around a smaller menu and faster production system. When it reopened, hamburgers, cheeseburgers, fries, milkshakes, and other simple items formed the core of the new operation. This shift laid the foundation for the Speedee Service System.
The original barbecue name is often overlooked because the later McDonald’s identity became associated worldwide with hamburgers and the arches. The company name later became simply McDonald’s as the restaurant model and franchise business developed.