What was the original name of the McDonald brothers’ restaurant before they simplified the brand?

The McDonald brothers’ original restaurant was called McDonald’s Bar-B-Q.

Maurice and Richard McDonald opened the restaurant in San Bernardino, California, in 1940. It began as a drive-in barbecue restaurant with a broad menu. In 1948, the brothers reorganized the business around a smaller selection of hamburgers, cheeseburgers, fries, shakes, and other fast-service items.

That change helped create the operating model later associated with the McDonald’s brand. The restaurant’s name is sometimes reported with slightly different punctuation or spelling, but “McDonald’s Bar-B-Q” is the historical name used in accounts of the original business. The later Speedee Service System represented the operational rebrand, not the restaurant’s initial name.