Burger Chef was an American
fast-food restaurant chain. It began operating in 1954 in
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...
, expanded throughout the United States, and at its peak in 1973 had 1,050 locations, including some in Canada. The chain featured several signature items, such as the Big Shef and Super Shef hamburgers.
In 1982, the
General Foods Corporation
General Foods Corporation was a company whose direct predecessor was established in the United States by Charles William Post as the Postum Cereal Company in 1895.
The company changed its name to "General Foods" in 1929, after several corporate ...
, owners of the Burger Chef trademark and name, divested itself of the restaurant chain, gradually selling to the owners of
Hardee's. The final restaurant to carry the Burger Chef name closed in 1996.
History
In 1954, Frank and Donald Thomas patented the
flame broiler in their parent company General Equipment Corporation and started their restaurant in
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...
. In 1957, they opened their first Burger Chef.
Burger Chef spread across the United States, following a strategy of opening outlets in smaller towns.
By 1972, its number of locations (1,200) was surpassed only by
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hambur ...
(1,600).
They offered a double burger, called the Big Shef, and later the quarter-pound (113 gram) hamburger, Super Shef. Subsequently, they added the Works Bar, where customers added their own toppings to hamburgers.
In 1968,
General Foods Corporation
General Foods Corporation was a company whose direct predecessor was established in the United States by Charles William Post as the Postum Cereal Company in 1895.
The company changed its name to "General Foods" in 1929, after several corporate ...
purchased the chain and continued its rapid expansion. At the time of the purchase by General Foods, Burger Chef had 600 locations in 39 states.
[Alternate Link]
via ProQuest
ProQuest LLC is an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based global information-content and technology company, founded in 1938 as University Microfilms by Eugene B. Power. ProQuest is known for its applications and information services for libraries, provid ...
.
By 1969, international expansion was underway with General Foods building ten Burger Chef outlets in
Australia. The expansion ended in 1975 with a US$1.3 million loss (equivalent to $ million in ). It was stated that Australians disliked the limited burger menu compared to varied options available from
milk bar
In Australia, a milk bar is a suburban local general store. Similar, but not identical, establishments include tuck shops, delicatessens or "delis", and corner shops or corner stores. Milk bars are traditionally a place where people buy new ...
s. The chain had two
mascot
A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...
s: Burger Chef and Jeff (the chef's juvenile
sidekick
A sidekick is a slang expression for a close companion or colleague (not necessarily in fiction) who is, or is generally regarded as, subordinate to the one they accompany.
Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, ...
).
In
1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...
, the chain introduced the Funburger, a hamburger with packaging that included puzzles and a small toy. The following year, the chain introduced the Funmeal, the first kid’s meal that included a burger, french fries, a drink, a cookie, and a small toy; with expanded packaging that included stories about Burger Chef and Jeff's adventures and friends (including the magician Burgerini, vampire Count Fangburger, talking ape Burgerilla, and Cackleburger the witch), with riddles and puzzles. When McDonald's introduced their
Happy Meal
A Happy Meal is a kids' meal usually sold at the American fast food restaurant chain McDonald's since June 1979. A small toy or book is included with the food, both of which are usually contained in a red cardboard box with a yellow smiley fac ...
in 1979, the chain sued, but ultimately lost.
In 1982, General Foods sold Burger Chef to the
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
company
Imasco
Imasco Limited was a Canadian corporation headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was founded in 1970 as Imperial and Associates, Co.
History
Imasco was the former owner of Imperial Tobacco Canada, Canada Trust, Shoppers Drug Mart , Gen ...
, which also owned
Hardee's, for US$44 million (equivalent to $ million in ).
Imasco converted many locations to Hardee's restaurants and let franchises and locations near existing Hardee's locations convert to other brands.
Remaining restaurants that did not convert to Hardee's or new names and branding simply closed.
Hardee's brought back the Big Shef hamburger for a limited time in 2001, 2007, and 2014 at some Midwestern locations.
Trademark suit
In January 2007, River West Brands, LLC, of
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
, sued Hardee's Food Systems in the US Patents and Trademarks Office, claiming
abandonment of the Burger Chef trademark.
On April 16, 2009, River West Brands dropped their petition for cancellation, and both parties agreed to pay their own attorneys' fees.
Slogans
*1980–1996: "Nowhere else but Burger Chef."
*1976–1980: "We really give you the works." and "Open wide America, you never can forget. You get more to like at Burger Chef."
*1971–1976: "You get more to like at Burger Chef."
*1970–1971: "There's more to like at Burger Chef." and "Burger Chef goes all out to please your family."
See also
*
Burger Chef murders
*
List of defunct fast-food restaurant chains
This is a list of defunct fast-food chains. A restaurant chain is a set of related restaurants with the same name in many different locations that are either under shared corporate ownership (e.g., McDonald's in the U.S.) or franchising agreemen ...
*
List of hamburger restaurants
This is a list of notable hamburger restaurants. A hamburger is a sandwich consisting of one or more cooked patties of ground meat (usually beef) usually placed inside a sliced hamburger bun. Hamburgers are often served with lettuce, bacon, tom ...
References
Further reading
* Self published.
External links
Hardee's trademark trialon the US Patent and Trademark Office
Burger Chef MemoriesJFS' tribute siteBurger Chef former locationsat Waymarking.com
{{Authority control
Defunct fast-food chains in the United States
Restaurants established in 1954
Fast-food hamburger restaurants
Defunct companies based in Indianapolis
Restaurants in Indiana
Restaurants disestablished in 1996
1954 establishments in Indiana
1996 disestablishments in Indiana
Defunct restaurant chains in the United States
General Foods