What was McDonald’s restaurant chain called immediately after its 1948 relaunch?

After its 1948 relaunch, the restaurant was called McDonald’s Famous Hamburgers.

Maurice and Richard McDonald reopened their San Bernardino, California, restaurant in 1948 after changing its operating model. They removed much of the carhop service and introduced a streamlined system centered on a limited menu, standardized preparation, and faster service. The new name reflected the restaurant’s main product and its updated identity.

The brothers’ earlier establishment had been known as McDonald’s Bar-B-Q, which served a broader barbecue-oriented menu. The 1948 change was therefore both operational and branding-related: the restaurant’s name, menu, service model, and public image moved toward hamburgers and speed.

This name should not be confused with “Speedee Service System,” the operating method and branding phrase associated with the restaurant’s streamlined approach. Ray Kroc later expanded the business nationally, but the 1948 relaunch preceded his involvement.