What was McDonald’s original restaurant name before the “McDonald’s” branding was adopted?

McDonald’s original restaurant name before the “McDonald’s” branding was adopted was McDonald’s Bar-B-Q.

Richard and Maurice McDonald opened their first restaurant in San Bernardino, California, in 1940. It initially operated as a barbecue drive-in, offering a much broader menu than the streamlined hamburger restaurant that followed.

In 1948, the brothers closed the business temporarily and reopened it with the Speedee Service System. The new format focused on hamburgers, cheeseburgers, fries, milkshakes, and rapid counter service. The shift changed both the business model and the identity customers associated with the restaurant.

The name McDonald’s became increasingly important as the hamburger-focused concept spread. The original barbecue name is easy to confuse with later terms such as Speedee Service System, but it identifies the earliest restaurant format. Ray Kroc’s later franchising work helped turn the family name into a worldwide brand.