McDonald’s Bar-B-Q was the name of the original San Bernardino restaurant before the McDonald brothers redesigned it around speedy service.
Richard and Maurice McDonald opened the restaurant in San Bernardino, California, in 1940. It began as a barbecue drive-in with carhop service and a broad menu. In 1948, the brothers closed it temporarily, removed much of the traditional drive-in model, and reopened with a smaller menu and faster preparation system.
That redesign produced the Speedee Service System and laid the operational foundation for the later McDonald’s brand. The restaurant’s identity shifted from a barbecue drive-in toward a highly standardized hamburger business.
The name is sometimes confused with the later corporate name or with the Speedee mascot. “McDonald’s Bar-B-Q” refers to the restaurant’s original name, while Speedee refers to the service system and its mascot.