History
Blake's Lotaburger was founded by Blake Chanslor, who moved from Texas to Albuquerque, New Mexico after World War II. Chanslor opened his first "Lota Burger" stand on July 9, 1952. His initial investment in the business was $5,300, and his stand was 230 square feet (21 m2), on the corner of San Mateo and Southern, in southeast Albuquerque. In 1953, he opened two more stores.
Chanslor expanded Lotaburger to 23 cities in New Mexico, with 35 stores in Albuquerque. Chanslor remained the owner until 2003, when he sold his interest to the father-son team of Ronald C. and Brian Rule. The restaurants are known as Blake’s Lotaburger. In 2009, the company owned and operated 76 stores.
In the 1990s, the company featured television commercial personality Ernest P. Worrell, played by Jim Varney, in many of its television ads.
According to the Albuquerque Journal article in 1994, Lotaburger helped popularize the use of green chiles as a condiment on hamburgers. In 2006, the company was recognized by National Geographic for the “Best Green Chile Cheeseburger in the World". In 2009, the New Mexico Tourism Department listed the restaurants as one of the state's destinations on the Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail.
In June 2012, National Geographic ranked Blake's Lotaburger fourth on its 10 Best Hamburgers list. Lotaburger execute Brent Jones said, "This is what we do for a living and if somebody thinks we're doing it right, that's about as good as it gets." The company celebrated the news, as well as its 60th anniversary on June 7, when it handed out free Lotaburger meals at Store #22 at Eubank and Osuna. It had also given out free combos in 2010 at its Store #2.
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