Burger Chef

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Defunct American fast food restaurant chain

title: "Burger Chef" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["defunct-fast-food-chains-in-the-united-states", "restaurants-established-in-1954", "fast-food-hamburger-restaurants", "defunct-restaurants-in-indianapolis", "restaurants-disestablished-in-1996", "1954-establishments-in-indiana", "1996-disestablishments-in-indiana", "defunct-restaurant-chains-in-the-united-states", "general-foods"] description: "Defunct American fast food restaurant chain" topic_path: "technology/web" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burger_Chef" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Defunct American fast food restaurant chain ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox company"]

FieldValue
nameBurger Chef
logoBurger Chef Logo.svg
logo_size150
typeSubsidiary
fateSold to Hardee's
successorHardee's
foundation
defunct
locationIndianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
industryRestaurant
productsHamburgers, fast food
parentGeneral Foods (1968–1982)
Imasco (1982–1996)
::

| name = Burger Chef | logo = Burger Chef Logo.svg | logo_size = 150 | slogan = | type = Subsidiary | fate = Sold to Hardee's | successor = Hardee's | foundation = | defunct = | location = Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. | industry = Restaurant | products = Hamburgers, fast food | key_people = | num_employees = | owner = | parent = General Foods (1968–1982) Imasco (1982–1996) | subsid = | brands = | website = Burger Chef was an American fast-food restaurant chain. It began operating in 1954 in Indianapolis, Indiana, expanded throughout the United States, and at its peak in 1973, the chain 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, 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 use Burger Chef's branding and signage closed in 1996. Three former locations (in Cleveland, Tennessee, South Charleston, West Virginia, and Reidsville, North Carolina) continue to sell Burger Chef menu items, but no longer operate under that name.The Cleveland, Tennessee location holds the distinction of being the only one that has never closed. It is said that the restaurant underwent a transformation at midnight, with signage removed and the name changed to “The Chef.” Currently, Ross Weaver owns the restaurant, which was purchased by his father in 1992. Known as the last remaining “Almost Burger Chef” in the country, The Chef is famous for its local dish, Hot Slaw, which has been a staple on their menu for over four decades and has even been featured in the New York Times.

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. In 1957, they opened their first Burger Chef.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Burgerchef_1966_ad.jpg" caption="Burger Chef advertisement (1966)."] ::

Burger Chef spread across the United States, following a strategy of opening outlets in smaller towns.

In 1968, General Foods Corporation 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.

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 bars. The chain had two mascots: Burger Chef, voiced by Paul Winchell, and Jeff (the chef's juvenile sidekick).

By 1972, its number of locations (1,200) was surpassed only by McDonald's (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.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/Burgerchef_sign_albuquerque.jpg" caption="Burger Chef sign in Albuquerque, New Mexico (1979)."] ::

In 1972, 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 in 1979, the chain sued, but ultimately lost.

In 1982, General Foods sold Burger Chef to the Canadian company Imasco, 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, Illinois, sued Hardee's Food Systems in the US Patents and Trademarks Office, claiming abandonment of the Burger Chef trademark. In 2009, River West Brands dropped its petition for cancellation. Both parties agreed to pay their own attorneys' fees.

Slogans

  • 1970–1971: "There's more to like at Burger Chef." and "Burger Chef goes all out to please your family."
  • 1970-1972: "We always treat you right."
  • 1971-1972: "Burger Chef puts magic in your meal."
  • 1971–1976: "You get more to like at 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."
  • 1980–1996: "Nowhere else but Burger Chef."

References

References

  1. (2002). "Lost Indianapolis". [[Arcadia Publishing]].
  2. (May 19, 2014). "Mad Men: A Brief History of the Real-World Burger Chef".
  3. "Suzi's Hamburgers".
  4. "The Chef".
  5. "Pete's Burgers and More".
  6. Sanders, Scott R.. (2009). "Burger Chef". Arcadia Publishing.
  7. . (October 16, 1967). ["General Foods Says It Plans To Buy Burger Chef Systems"](https://www.proquest.com/docview/133179393). *[[The Wall Street Journal]]*.
  8. (April 16, 1975). "NewsBank OpenURL {{!}} NewsBank InfoWeb". Houston Chronicle.
  9. (May 5, 2014). "Puzzling Pickles, what's a fun burger?". Star Tribune.
  10. Shefrin, Hersh. (December 14, 2015). "Behavioral Risk Management: Managing the Psychology That Drives Decisions and Influences Operational Risk". [[Palgrave Macmillan.
  11. (March 11, 2020). "Burger Chef's Longest-Held Location was in Michigan". 99.1 WFMK.
  12. (October 28, 2018). "This defunct burger chain invented much of what you love about fast food". au.sports.yahoo.com.
  13. . (December 10, 1981). ["Hardee's to Buy Burger Chef"](https://www.nytimes.com/1981/12/10/business/hardee-s-to-buy-burger-chef.html). *[[The New York Times]]*.
  14. (September 5, 2017). "Burger Chef was 'incrediburgible': RetroIndy". The Indianapolis Star.
  15. . (April 23, 2007). ["Hardee's(R) Brings Back Burger Chef(R) Big Shef(TM) Hamburger for a Limited Time in Select Markets"](http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hardeesr-brings-back-burger-chefr-big-sheftm-hamburger-for-a-limited-time-in-select-markets-58710217.html).
  16. Kessler, John. (May 19, 2014). "Hardee's brings back the Burger Chef Big Shef for a LTO". [[Atlanta Journal-Constitution]].
  17. . (April 16, 2009). ["Withdrawal of Cancellation"](http://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/ttabvue-92046880-CAN-32.pdf).
  18. . (). ["There's more to like at Burger Chef"](http://www.trademarkia.com/theres-more-to-like-at-burger-chef-81023449.html). *Trademarkia.com*.
  19. . (December 17, 1970). ["Triple Treat Yourself (advertisement)"](https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1978&dat=19701217&id=wF8iAAAAIBAJ&pg=7077,5250783). *[[Owosso Argus-Press]]*.
  20. . (). ["You get more to like at Burger Chef"](http://www.trademarkia.com/you-get-more-to-like-at-burger-chef-73094356.html). *Trademarkia.com*.
  21. . (February 12, 1977). ["Double Delight (advertisement)"](https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=888&dat=19770212&id=CMRaAAAAIBAJ&pg=1309,2512702). *[[St. Petersburg Times]]*.
  22. . (). ["Burger Chef"](http://www.copyrightencyclopedia.com/general-foods-kitchen-cookbook-by-general-foods-corporation/). *Copyrightencyclopedia.com*.
  23. . (). ["Nowhere else but Burger Chef"](http://www.trademarkia.com/nowhere-else-but-burger-chef-73332158.html). *Trademarkia.com*.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

defunct-fast-food-chains-in-the-united-statesrestaurants-established-in-1954fast-food-hamburger-restaurantsdefunct-restaurants-in-indianapolisrestaurants-disestablished-in-19961954-establishments-in-indiana1996-disestablishments-in-indianadefunct-restaurant-chains-in-the-united-statesgeneral-foods