What was the name of McDonald's original barbecue restaurant before its 1948 rebranding?

Before its 1948 rebranding, the McDonald brothers' restaurant was called McDonald's Bar-B-Q.

Richard and Maurice McDonald opened the San Bernardino, California, drive-in restaurant in 1940. It served a broad barbecue-oriented menu through carhop service, reflecting the popular drive-in restaurant model of the period. The business was initially known as McDonald's Bar-B-Q.

In 1948, the brothers closed the restaurant and redesigned its operation. They focused on hamburgers, french fries, milkshakes, and rapid counter service, while dropping the barbecue-centered identity. That transition created the Speedee Service System and the McDonald's name and format later franchised by Ray Kroc.

The barbecue name is sometimes confused with the later McDonald's brand because both businesses operated at the same San Bernardino location, but they represented different stages of the company's history.