What was the original name of the McDonald brothers’ restaurant business before it became McDonald’s?

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

Maurice and Richard McDonald opened their first drive-in restaurant in San Bernardino, California, in 1940. Its menu initially centered on barbecue foods rather than the limited hamburger menu later associated with the chain.

In 1948, the brothers reorganized the restaurant around a faster self-service system and renamed the business McDonald’s. This change marked the beginning of the operating model that attracted Ray Kroc and eventually became the basis for the worldwide franchise company.

The name is sometimes confused with the later corporate brand, but McDonald’s Bar-B-Q refers specifically to the brothers’ early restaurant identity. The original barbecue concept predates the Speedee Service System and the Golden Arches imagery.