How McDonald's first got its start

Brothers Maurice (“Mac”) and Richard (“Dick”) McDonald left New Hampshire for California hoping to make their fortunes in movies, but low-paid studio work and a struggling theater pushed them toward food service. They opened a roadside stand selling orange drinks and hot dogs, then moved to San Bernardino and built McDonald’s Barbeque, a drive-in restaurant where carhops served customers in their cars. Postwar prosperity, rising car ownership and expanding roads made roadside dining increasingly popular, and the restaurant became a busy hangout, especially for young people. Its success also brought problems: a large staff, unreliable workers and the distractions associated with drive-ins.

In 1948, the brothers temporarily closed the business to redesign it around speed, efficiency and lower costs. Inspired by assembly-line production, they cut the menu from 25 items to nine, developed equipment to portion condiments and form patties, and mapped out kitchen tasks so workers could prepare food in coordinated steps. The new system aimed to deliver a meal in 20 seconds and produce burgers, fries and shakes at high volume. They eliminated carhops, required customers to order at a counter, and replaced the old staff model with male employees in clean, uniform clothing. A simplified menu and reduced labor costs let them set prices below competitors: burgers cost 15 cents, fries 10 cents and milk shakes 20 cents. The transformation established the operational model that would distinguish McDonald’s.