When remembering Burger Chef, you need to take into consideration what they were able to accomplish in such a short time. I had never even heard of Burger Chef until my friend Jim Winters ended up gifting me with an old Burger Chef sign.
One week later I was well versed in it. The burger steward side of me had been awakened. It would be the start of my collection that would culminate with the opening of my Burger Museum.
Burger Chef Table of Contents
Burger Chef History
Year Founded: 1957
City Founded: Indianapolis, Indiana
Type: Nationwide
Founders: brothers Donald and Frank Thomas
Number of Locations at the chain’s peak: 1,200
Locations still in operation: None
Signature Burgers: Big Chef and Super Chef
Slogan: “There’s more to like at Burger Chef”
The Beginning
Burger King had hired the General Restaurant Equipment company to build a broiler for them. Inspired by BK, General Restaurant Equipment saw the potential in starting its own burger chain.
The first step was to design and create a broiler to cook burgers. They even went so far as to advertise their first location as “Indianapolis’ first Florida-style self-service drive-in!” in the Indianapolis News on March 24, 1957.
In just ten years, Burger Chef became the second-largest burger chain, with only about one hundred fewer locations than McDonald’s. General Foods Corporation purchased the Burger Chef chain in 1968, which helped to fund its rapid expansion.
Under General Foods, they reached their peak of 1,200 locations in 1972.
The Decline
The late 1970s and early 1980s were not kind to Burger Chef as they struggled financially. In 1982, the 679 locations of Burger Chef (420 of which were franchised) were purchased by Hardee’s for forty-four million dollars.
Many Burger Chef locations were converted to Hardee’s, while franchises or restaurants near pre-existing Hardee’s were allowed to switch to a different brand altogether. Some independent Burger Chefs continued to operate for years after the Hardee’s purchase.
The last Burger Chef restaurant in Cookeville, Tennessee, closed when its franchise agreement expired in 1996. For those of you still longing for a Burger Chef fix, Hardee’s has been known to bring back the Big Chef from time to time at some of their Midwestern locations.
Burger Chef Funmeal
Burger Chef’s Funmeal, which debuted in 1973, featured Burger Chef and Jeff as well as Burgerini, Count Fangburger, Burgerilla, and Cackleburger. Their mascots were Burger Chef and his younger sidekick Jeff. Each Funmeal cardboard box included riddles and puzzles galore and a small toy.
McDonald’s later introduced their Happy Meal, a similar concept. Burger Chef sued them in 1979 but ultimately lost the $5.5 million lawsuit
Star Wars & Empire Strikes Back Burger Chef Posters
During Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back’s original theatrical releases in 1977 and 1980, Burger Chef gave away posters with the purchase of a soft drink. The original posters are highly collectible and can be found on eBay.
Be careful; there are now reprints out there, so make sure to ask the seller where they got the posters before you buy them.
Burger Chef Commercial Collection
I found this collection of Burger Chef commercials on youtube and knew instantly that you needed to see them.
Burger Chef on Mad Men
You can see a Burger Chef restaurant in action on season seven of the TV show Mad Men. Burger Chef was one of the clients of the program’s fictional advertising firm, Sterling Cooper.
The production crew took Jim’s Burgers (now Chris’s Burgers) in Rialto, California, a former Burger Chef building, and painstakingly brought it back to its former glory inside and out.
Former Burger Chef Restaurant Locations
Vicki’s Lunch Van in Montgomery, Alabama, and Jack’s Old Fashion Hamburger House in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, are both located in former Burger Chef buildings. They have one other thing in common; both serve awesome old-school burgers.
Most locations below have still the original building structure and sign outside. In some cases, the building may have been modified, or a repurposed sign is all that is left.
Can you think of anyone I’ve left out? Please leave a comment below so I can keep this list updated.
| STATE | CURRENT BUSINESS | ADDRESS | CITY |
| Alabama | Plum’s Lounge | 1186 Montgomery Highway | Dothan |
| Alabama | Vicki’s Lunch Van | 2520 Fairground Road | Montgomery |
| Arizona | Car Wash El Beto | 916 N 35th Avenue | Phoenix |
| Arkansas | Car Connection | 5404 S University Avenue | Little Rock |
| California | Angelo’s Hamburgers | 511 S State College Blvd | Anaheim |
| California | Wienerschnitzel | 200 E 18th Street | Antioch |
| California | Speedy Zapatos Mexican Food | 5225 N Blackstone Avenue | Fresno |
| California | B&B Donuts | 925 Harbor Boulevard | Fullerton |
| California | Samo’s Hamburgers | 1701 S Garey Avenue | Pomona |
| California | CL Auto Group | 619 El Camino Real | Redwood City |
| California | *Chris’s Burgers | 765 Foothill Blvd | Rialto |
| California | Antonio’s Quick Lunch | 716 Colusa Avenue | Yuba City |
| Colorado | El Fogon | 621 W 84th Avenue | Thornton |
| Florida | Jack’s Old Fashion Hamburger House | 4201 N Federal Highway | Ft. Lauderdale |
| Florida | Umpa’s Diner | 1115 N Courtenay Parkway | Merritt Island |
| Florida | Darrell’s Diner | 1031 S Pine Avenue | Ocala |
| Florida | Kingfisher Sandwiches | 1500 Barrancas Avenue | Pensacola |
| Florida | Fray’s Donut House | 5236 16th St N | St. Petersburg |
| Illinois | Vacant | 433 N Gilbert Street | Danville |
| Indiana | Mr and Mrs Tire | 1094 Sagamore Parkway W | West Lafayette |
| Maryland | Vacant | 5281 Reisterstown Rd | Baltimore |
| Massachusetts | Kwik Pik | 590 Boston Road | Springfield |
| Michigan | A-1 Wyoming Outlet | 3261 Division Ave S | Grand Rapids |
| Michigan | China Cafe | 319 Broadway Street | South Haven |
| New Jersey | Nino’s Pizzarama | 182 N White Horse Pike | Hammonton |
| New Mexico | Central Grill and Coffee House | 2056 Central Avenue SW | Albuquerque |
| New Mexico | Clovis Mower Repair | 501 W 7th Street | Clovis |
| New Mexico | Alanberto’s Mexican Food | 1495 S Solano Drive | Las Cruces |
| North Carolina | San Luis Restaurant | 1503 W Gate City Boulevard | Greensboro |
| North Carolina | Char’s Hamburgers | 400 N Main Street #3556 | Lexington |
| North Carolina | Pete’s Burgers | 747 S Scales Street | Reidsville |
| Ohio | Ann’s Place | 1604 S Hawkins Ave | Akron |
| Oklahoma | **Vacant | 824 N 8th Street | Cache |
| Oklahoma | Tacos La Tia | 604 Eastside Boulevard | Muskogee |
| Oklahoma | Caspian Auto Sales | 4600 NW 39th Street | Oklahoma City |
| Oregon | Kenny’s Noodle House | 8305 SE Powell Boulevard | Portland |
| Oregon | Mak’s Mini Mart | 626 SW College Street | Portland |
| Oregon | Pacific Gold Cannabis | 2367 SE 122nd Avenue | Portland |
| Pennsylvania | Vacant | 2807 College Avenue | Beaver Falls |
| South Carolina | Lot Two Auto Sales | 417 Wright Boulevard | Conway |
| Tennessee | The Chef | 126 Keith Street SW | Cleveland |
| Texas | Vacant | 2509 E Amarillo Boulevard | Amarillo |
| Texas | P. Terry’s Burger Stand | 3303 N Lamar Boulevard | Austin |
| Texas | $25 Optical | 545 S 11th Street | Beaumont |
| Texas | Benno’s Cajun Seafood | 1200 Seawall Boulevard | Galveston |
| Texas | Vacant | 3818 TX-35 | Houston |
| Texas | Las Morenitas | 2728 S Richey Street | Houston |
| Texas | Vacant | 701 Highland Avenue | Killeen |
| Texas | Fish Place | 925 Texas Avenue | La Marque |
| Texas | Chen’s | 302 S Timberland Drive | Lufkin |
| Virginia | Long River Restaurant | 2835 Riverside Drive | Danville |
| Virginia | Boost Mobile | 1654 Virginia Avenue | Martinsville |
| Virginia | Wrap Pack and Mail | 806 Memorial Boulevard N | Martinsville |
| Virginia | Sal’s Pizza & Italian Restaurant | 2017 S Sycamore Street | Petersburg |
| Washington | New Harbour | 1830 N Division Street | Spokane |
| West Virginia | Stewarts Original Hot Dog | 1025 Oak Street | Kenova |
| West Virginia | Suzi’s Hamburgers | 239 Maccorkle Ave SW | South Charleston |
| West Virginia | Martinsburg Tobacco & Vape Outlet | 305 N Queen Street | Martinsburg |
| Wisconsin | Amelia’s | 724 E Layton Avenue | Milwaukee |
*Where the Mad Men episode was filmed.
**Not original Burger Chef restaurant location but a refurbished signed was moved there
What Happened to Burger Chef? Video
My friend Troy at Restaurant Rewind did a great job on this What Happened to Burger Chef? video.
Links with great Burger Chef info
There is more Burger Chef information if you dig a little, I’d suggest you check out the links below.
https://www.freewebs.com/burgerchef/
http://jsfburgerchef.homestead.com/
https://www.roadarch.com/eateries/bchef.html
https://www.waymarking.com/cat/details.aspx?f=1&guid=65766bda-9049-4276-9ee6-1fe3ed9e6d1f
http://web.archive.org/web/20030425145203/http://www.burgerchef.com/
https://jsfburgerchef.homestead.com/BurgerChefBuildingDesign.html
There used to be a Burger Chef in Glasgow KY back in the 1960s and maybe early 1970s. Besides A&W, this was the first fast food chain to be o. Glasgow, long before there was ever a McDonalds, Burger Queen, Hardee’s or Burger King.
We would love to see if anyone has a picture of this building on Happy Valley Rd, Glasgow, KY.
There was a Burger Chef at 144 Black Horse Pike, Audubon, NJ 08106. My dad’s gas station was two doors down at 140. I enjoyed many a burger there. Burger Chef was VERY good! There is a vacant builder there at this time.
BURGERTOWN at 2720 Orangethorpe Ave, Fullerton, CA is a former Burger Chef.
I’m not 100% certain about the building being a (modified) original of the BC, but there was one in Cocoa Beach FL and it was on the site of Brano’s Italian now. https://www.google.com/maps/@28.3524014,-80.6091439,3a,75y,4.09h,102t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sMCuH-7sFVo9i3bIxgezliQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192
McDonald’s opened up in about 1975, and the owner’s son was at my school. He said that when McD opened it would close down the Burger Chef. And it did.
I worked for Burger Chef of Asheville NC from 71 – 78 through High School & College. Worked my way up to Assistant Manager. We had 2 stores, 807 Merrimon Ave and 61 Hendersonville Rd. We were the last stores that served fresh fries. Best Job I ever had in many ways!
We remember one in Kalamazoo, Michigan back in the 70’s and 80’s.
2 Burger Chefs in massachusetts: Salem, MA(North St.) and Peabody, MA(Central St.). Both closed approx. 1975-76 and both structures still standing. Salem, MA became HMA car wash and Peabody, a Bill & Bobs Roast Beef. 9/14/2021
I ran across your site as I was reminiscing about the “good old days”. I worked for Burger Chef from late 1968 until 1977, here in NJ and in VA, MD, and IN., both franchised and corporate locations. I’ve managed to keep some memorabilia all these years and would like to share the pictures with you and your readers. I have a few photos, but I didn’t see a way to post them here. If you would get back to me and let me know how to do so, I’d love to share them.
There was a Burger Chef in Flagstaff AZ, Burger Chef – 2004 E. Santa Fe Avenue (Rte 66) – Flagstaff …
There was a Burger Chef at 35th avenue & W. Roosevelt in Phoenix. The teens from Carl Hayden High School, would gather there for luch or after school. It was where I got my first job as a cashier/server. The building is still there on the corner discised as a used car dealership. Memories both good and bad for me, no fault of the company or food.
Thanks for sharing and the building info. I’ve updated the list.
There was a burger chef in Absecon New Jersey on the corner of white horse pike and route 9 they converted it into a Burger King
There was a Burger Chef on South Lamar, Austin, Texas. Our parents too us there quite a few times.
The old building on ( Rt 23 ) South High Street in Columbus Ohio is not a restaurant now but looks the same on the front. It’s just south of Rt 104. It’s KNE Motors car lot .
Burger Chef had a presence in Missouri.
3605 Dunn Rd. 63033
There were shops in in Cape Girardeau, MO as well.
Troy, Ohio had a Burger Chef in the mid to late 70’s.Not sure whatever happened to it. I remember being around 10ish and seeing the big Chef beside the railroad tracks as we went thru town. Then it was just gone a Godfathers pizza was there maybe another, Noble romans? It is now a Vets/small pets office
In Indiana, Burger Chef had locations in Indianapolis (the very first Burger Chef restaurant was in Indianapolis 1300 West 16th Street, Indianapolis) 12 locations, Valparaiso, Decatur, Evansville, Noblesville, Terre Haute, Carmel, Speedway (very close to Indianapolis,) Burger Chef #1 – 1300 West 16th Street – Indianapolis
Mission Burrito at 2161 Tapo St, Simi Valley, CA. 93063 was a Burger Chef Location. It became Taco Tree with the original building structure then when it became Mission Burrito, they remodeled it and it would be hard to tell now, but it is the same original building. When I moved to Simi in 1977, it was already Taco Tree.
There was a Burger Chef at the corner of Pine avenue and Layton avenue, in Milwaukee, WI. After that it became a couple of casual fast food type restaurants. Today the building, with its original kite design, is a bar restaurant called Amelia’s.
Thanks, added it to the list.
there is a former Burger Chef in Reidsville NC .Now Petes burgers and more.Still Burger Chef menu with different names ex Big Shef now Big Burger exc. Even still has the works bar. . Is in a kite building that was remodeled. There is also an ex Burger Chef in Lexington NC called Chars.Burger Chef was not strong in NC most likely because of Hardees
Thanks, added those to the list.
Hello! When my Dad was stationed at Scott AFB we used to eat at the Burger Chef next to the Community Park on 110 E Hwy 50 in O’Fallon, IL. My Mom liked it because they had a 70’s-style salad bar (think Wendy’s stole that idea like McDonald’s stole the Fun Meal). Looks like the building is now a Hardee’s. Don’t think there was a McDonald’s across the street back then. There’s a reference to it on the O’Fallon Facebook page here https://www.facebook.com/groups/171453042927313/
I heard that the reason General Foods sold Burger Chef was that they were not getting a big enough cut of the profits from the francise owners, and that forced them to sell out to Hardies.
I don’t think I’ve heard that before.
Was there ever a Burger Chef located on Bainbridge Blvd in Chesapeake, Va in around the 1960s?
Did it become Jackson’s after that?
I’ve tried finding info about that location but I can’t. Do you happen to have the exact address?
I don’t know about THAT one, but I remember a Burger Chef at Lansdale Circle (corner of Military Hiwy & Princess Anne Rd) in Norfolk.
There was a Burger Chef at Nichol’s Plaza in Maple Shade, NJ and also in the Tilton Shopping Center in Northfield, NJ
AUNT BEAS RESTAURANT TUSCULUM BLVD. GREENEVILLE TENNESSEE
Love this info! Thanks! I have a location to add to your list. I remember my dad taking our family to this Burger Chef on Virginia Ave. in Hagerstown, MD in the 80’s https://www.pinterest.com/pin/466685580126160163/
Is the original building still standing?
I worked at the Burger Chef in Gainesville while attending U of F, in the early 60s. At the time, we were the second largest chain of fast-food restaurants in the country, second only to McDonalds. My main take-away is my ability to run the ’15 times’ multiplication tables quicker than anyone in town. When everything being sold is 15¢, that tends to happen! I worked both the front windows and the back line.