What was the name of McDonald’s original San Bernardino restaurant before it became McDonald’s?

McDonald’s original San Bernardino restaurant was called McDonald’s Bar-B-Q before it became McDonald’s.

Richard and Maurice McDonald opened the restaurant in San Bernardino, California, in 1940. It initially operated as a barbecue drive-in, reflecting the car-oriented restaurant culture of the period. The brothers later reorganized the business around a limited menu, assembly-line preparation, and rapid service. That 1948 change established the Speedee Service System and made the restaurant a model for the later fast-food format.

The name is often confused with the restaurant’s later identity or with the Speedee Service System. Ray Kroc did not open the original San Bernardino location; he became involved later as a franchise agent and helped expand the brand nationally. The early barbecue name is important because it shows that McDonald’s branding developed alongside a fundamental change in the restaurant’s business model.