What was the original name of the McDonald's restaurant opened by the McDonald brothers in 1940?

The original McDonald's restaurant opened in 1940 was called McDonald's Bar-B-Q.

Maurice and Richard McDonald opened the restaurant in San Bernardino, California, on May 15, 1940. It was a drive-in barbecue restaurant, quite different from the streamlined hamburger chain later associated with the McDonald's name.

The brothers changed their business model in 1948, closing temporarily and reopening with a limited menu centered on hamburgers, cheeseburgers, french fries, milkshakes, and soft drinks. That reorganization created the faster service format that Ray Kroc later expanded nationally.

A common mix-up is treating the 1940 restaurant as the first modern McDonald's. It was the brothers' first restaurant under the McDonald's name, but the recognizable Speedee Service System and later Golden Arches branding came afterward.