Which two brothers founded the restaurant that became McDonald's in San Bernardino, California?

Richard and Maurice McDonald founded the restaurant that became McDonald's in San Bernardino, California.

The brothers, commonly known as Dick and Mac McDonald, opened a drive-in restaurant in San Bernardino in 1940. After experimenting with their operation, they closed the original format in 1948 and reopened with a focused menu and faster production system. This redesign became known as the Speedee Service System.

Their approach divided kitchen work into specialized steps, much like an assembly line. It reduced waiting time and helped standardize items such as hamburgers, fries, and milkshakes. That operating model became a foundation of McDonald's later brand promise, even though the brothers themselves did not build the worldwide corporation.

Ray Kroc entered the story later. He became the franchise agent for McDonald's in 1954 and opened a highly influential restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois, in 1955. Kroc eventually acquired the company, but Richard and Maurice McDonald were the original founders whose restaurant and system supplied the name and early identity.