Who founded the McDonald’s restaurant company that Ray Kroc later expanded into a global brand?

Richard and Maurice McDonald founded the restaurant business that Ray Kroc later expanded into a global brand.

The McDonald brothers opened their first restaurant in San Bernardino, California, in 1940. They later reorganized the operation around a simplified production process, creating the “Speedee Service System” and focusing on a limited menu prepared quickly.

Ray Kroc became involved after encountering the brothers’ successful restaurant operation as a milkshake-mixer salesman. He opened a McDonald’s restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois, in 1955 and built the franchise system that drove the company’s national and international growth. Kroc acquired the brothers’ business interest in 1961.

Branding history often gives Kroc most of the credit because he made McDonald’s globally famous. However, the original restaurant concept, operating system, and early identity came from Richard and Maurice McDonald. Distinguishing the founders from the later expansion leader prevents a common historical mix-up.