What was the name of McDonald's hamburger restaurant before the company adopted its current name?

McDonald's Bar-B-Q was the name of the hamburger restaurant before the company adopted its current name.

Richard and Maurice McDonald opened their first restaurant in San Bernardino, California, in 1940 under the name McDonald's Bar-B-Q. The restaurant initially offered a broad barbecue menu and operated as a drive-in with carhop service.

In 1948, the brothers closed the restaurant temporarily and rebuilt it around a smaller menu and faster counter service. They reopened as McDonald's, emphasizing hamburgers, fries, and milkshakes. That operational change also simplified the name used in the restaurant's public identity.

The earlier name is often confused with “Speedee Service System,” which described the restaurant's production method rather than its original business name. Ray Kroc later expanded the McDonald's system, but the original San Bernardino restaurant was founded by the McDonald brothers.