The First McDonald’s, 1948 | Retronaut.
THE FIRST MCDONALD’S, 1948
“In 1940, Maurice and Richard (“Mac” and ” Dick”) McDonald moved their father’s restaurant from Monrovia to San Bernardino, California. The restaurant was renamed “McDonald’s Famous Barbeque” and served over forty barbequed items.
After the brothers realized most of their profits came from hamburgers, they closed their drive-in to establish a streamlined menu of just hamburgers, cheeseburgers, french fries, shakes, soft drinks, and apple pie.
Mac and Dick had set up their kitchen like an assembly line to ensure maximum efficiency.
The restaurant’s name was again changed, this time to simply “McDonald’s,” and reopened its doors on December 12, 1948.”
