Burger Chef - History

History

In 1954, Frank and Donald Thomas patented the Flame Broiler in their parent company General Equipment Corp. located on Stadium Drive and started their own restaurant in Indianapolis, Indiana. Another of their trade names from that company was "Sani Serv". In 1957, they opened their first Burger Chef. The first Burger Chef was located at 3401 West 16th street in Indianapolis near Speedway, a location now occupied by a Burger King. Another store, possibly the second, was located on East 38th street across from the Indiana State Fairgrounds and included the main training center. Their first hamburgers sold for 15 cents. In the late 1950s, they created the first "value combo" as a 15¢ hamburger, 15¢ fries, and 15¢ vanilla, chocolate, or strawberry milkshake. It was known as the "Triple Treat." Free Triple Treat coupons were often given as promotional items. Note that the total price was no less than if the items were purchased individually.

Burger Chef was enormously popular and spread across both the West Coast and the East Coast, eventually becoming second only to McDonald's in terms of number of locations. They offered a signature double-burger called the Big Shef, and later the quarter-pound hamburger Super Shef. Later on, they pioneered the "Works Bar", where customers could dress their hamburgers with condiments and vegetables exactly as they wanted. The "Works Bar" required that customers now order their hamburgers "with" or "without". "With" hamburgers were dressed by the kitchen staff and "without" were dressed by the customer.

In 1968, the chain was purchased by the General Foods Corporation, which continued its rapid expansion. The chain's mascots were called Burger Chef and Jeff (the latter a juvenile sidekick to the former). The Chef character was voiced by Paul Winchell. In the early 1970s, the chain introduced first the Funburger, then the Funmeal, with specially-printed 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, puzzles, and small toys. Other premiums included flexi-disc recordings with more stories, and a token that could be redeemed for a frozen treat. When McDonald's introduced their similarly themed Happy Meal in 1979, the chain sued McDonald's, but ultimately lost.

General Foods soon proved unable to support the company's growth. In 1982, the corporation sold Burger Chef to the Canadian company Imasco, which also owned Hardee's. Many locations were converted into Hardee's restaurants, except for ones that were located near existing Hardee's.

The franchisees of those locations were allowed extra time to convert to other brands; one Burger Chef in Cookeville, Tennessee, through the courts, was able to keep its original name until 1996, when it finally changed its name to Pleaser's. Several Burger Chefs in southern Indiana had converted to the Pleaser's name after the initial buyout. The Pleaser's in Cookeville remained open until 2002 (the building itself was destroyed by fire in 2008) and one in Bedford, Indiana, lasted until 2004. Many Burger Chef locations located in Louisiana and Mississippi became the fast-food restaurant chain Mr. Cook, but financial troubles caused that chain to close many of its restaurants between 1993 and 1997. The Burger Chef in Jacksonville, Illinois, was converted to CR's Drive In. A Burger Chef in Danville, Illinois, was in existence as of June 2008 operating under the name Schroeder's Drive-In.

Hardee's brought back the Big Shef hamburger on a limited-time basis in 2001 at select Midwestern locations, and has done so again as of April 2007.