McDonald's original restaurant name was McDonald's Bar-B-Q.
Richard and Maurice McDonald opened the San Bernardino restaurant in 1940 as a drive-in barbecue establishment. Customers could order a relatively wide selection of food, and carhops delivered meals to vehicles. The barbecue identity reflected the restaurant's original menu and service style.
In 1948, the brothers temporarily closed the restaurant and reopened it with a much smaller menu. Hamburgers, fries, milkshakes, and other quickly prepared items became more important than barbecue dishes. Counter service replaced the carhop model, while kitchen tasks were organized for speed and consistency.
The later McDonald's identity was therefore built through a major operational and branding shift, not simply a name change. The company is often remembered as beginning with hamburgers, but the first San Bernardino business was explicitly branded around barbecue. The Speedee mascot and service system belonged to the restaurant's next phase.