Fast Food History

The "last" Burger Chef Logo How did Burger King help start Burger Chef?  Why are they gone now?  Find out by listening to this episode of Fast Food History. Burger Chef was a fast food chain that began operating in 1954 in Indianapolis, Indiana, 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.  It was sold to Hardee's in 1982 and was totally gone by 1996. Here are some websites dedicated to Burger Chef: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burger_Chef https://jsfburgerchef.homestead.com/BurgerChefHistory.html https://www.facebook.com/burgerchefandjeff/ http://www.roadarch.com/eateries/bchef.html Some of (but I'm sure not all) of the logos used by Burger Chef over the years: Burger Chef and Jeff on the wall in a Burger Chef in the 70's     Please let me know your Memories of Burger Chef.  Email mike@mikedell.com   iconic 15 Cents Sign logo for Burger Ch

KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) was the first Fast Food chain to feature something other than burgers, fries and hot dogs. Founded by Col. Harland Sanders in Corbin Kentucky in the 50's when Sanders was 65 years old. Ever heard of 'Kentucky Beef'  or KFC Eleven?  You will in this episode of Fast Food History. Also hear about Dave Thomas and how he helped build KFC before founding Wendy's and about the first Franchisee, Pete Harmon in South Salt Lake, UT and how he invented the famous Bucket and even the name, Kentucky Fried Chicken. Next episode will be Burger Chef Be sure to subscribe FREE at FastFoodHistory.com so you don't miss an episode!  

The McRib is back at McDonald's for a limited time and Fast Food History is back as well. Hopefully for a less limited time :) The McRib is a barbecue-flavored pork sandwich periodically sold by McDonald's It was invented by the same guy that invented the McNuggets when there was a Chicken shortage.  It was first sold in 1981 and comes and goes from the menu from time to time (unless you are in Germany where it's on the menu all the time) To find where the McRib might be on sale, check out the McRib Locator.  (They think of everything!)

A brief history of the Frankfurter, Weiner, Hot Dog, Coney, Pisa and about 100 other names for the good old Hot Dog. This is part one covering (sort of) the invention of the hot dog as we know it, the Icelandic Hot dog, the world record hotdogs and more. World Record Next week, Col. Sanders and KFC on Fast Food History.

How was the Double-Decker Hamburger born? Today we talk about Big Boy, in all it's different regional chains. Not exactly fast food but, as you will hear, they may be getting back to that. Find out how a 10 stool hamburger stand turned in to a National brand and even international.  (279 in Japan Still).  Also, how "Big Boy" has two completely separate companies today that hold the trademark for Big Boy.       Making of the Big Boy in different "Big Boy" Restaurants                 You shouldn't have fast food for every meal, or even every day, but you can enjoy it in moderation and keep your health in check.  Enjoy! and thanks for listening!

The Coney Island Dog is  NOT the Coney Island dogs sold by Nathan's and others on Coney Island in New York, but the hotdogs sold across Michigan and other places by Greek and Macedonian immigrants. Chili (or coney sauce) on a quality hotdog with Onions and Yellow Mustard (Catchup is for Fries!) Coney Island Hotdogs are available Mostly in Michigan, but also in Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio, Oklahoma and Texas mostly.  Also in Vegas at the D Casino (American Coney). Next week we will go over the very strange story of Big Boy.  

Anyone remember the Kewpee Hotel Hamburger Chain? Me either, but it turned into a great local chain in the SE Michigan (Flint) area. Today on Fast Food History, we learn about the Halo Burger chain and how it came from the Kewpee Burger chain.

Ground Beef and Bread, put it together and you get a fast food staple. Find out who claims to have invented the hamburger, some famous burgers and the world's most expensive burger. The word hamburger comes from Hamburg, Germany's second-largest city. In German, Burg means "castle". The word HAM in hamburger is from the old German word hamma, which is a bend in a river. The word Hamburger in German is someone from Hamburg, similar to frankfurter and wiener, names for other meat-based foods they stand for someone from Frankfurt and Vienna (Wien).         Making of the Big Boy in different "Big Boy" Restaurants

The subject of a movie and the place that was responsible for the popularization of the Hamburger. Voted Time Magazine's most influential burger joint, America's first fast food place, White Castle. Today on Fast food history. White Castle is privately held, debt-free and has been run by the same family for nearly 100 years. Starting in 1921, White Castle has grown to around 420 stores in the Midwest, Greater New York City area, and Las Vegas. Next week:  The History of the Hamburger.  Find out who invented it, and when.  (likely 4 or 5 different stories)   Just remember, Fast food is NOT good for you every day or for every meal. ENJOY fast food responsibly! Everything in moderation.

What do Car Factories, Hockey, Baseball, mushrooms and the Civil Rights movement have to do with Little Caesars Pizza? Find out today on Fast Food History. Today we go over the history of the fastest growing pizza chain in the world. We also talk about Mike Ilitch, founder of Little Caesars and how Little Caesars Pizza and Ilitch Holdings Inc. are a very giving company. Ilitch Holdings owns (privately held) Little Caesars, The Detroit Red Wings, Detriot Tigers, Blue Line Foodservice, Little Caesars Pizza Kits, Champion Foods, Olympia Entertainment, Olympia Development, Uptown Entertainment, and the Hockeytown Cafe and the Fox Theatre in Downtown Detroit. News story:  Mike Ilitch paid for Rosa Parks Rent for 10+ years Pizza Pizza! Next week, Love them or hate them, we are going to talk about White Castle. Just remember, Fast food is NOT good for you every day or for every meal. ENJOY fast food responsibly! Everything in moderation.

Of course, we are starting with the big one… With 36,900 McDonald's locations is by far the king of fast food in the world. Only Subway has more locations, but McDonald’s is a much bigger brand with much larger sales than Subway. McDonald’s is the quintessential fast food place.  It might not have been the first and it may not be the best, but if you grew up anytime in the last 60 years, you have grown up with McDonald’s in one way or another and we talk about it’s history today on Fast Food History. Thanks for listening to Fast Food History, the first episode. Next week: Little Caesar's Pizza, who launched the first Detroit-style deep dish pizza that is available nationwide.

Welcome to the podcast about Fast Food History.  This is one of the first projects, I've done, that is not Tech or Podcast related. Just something I've spent a lot of time reading about. As a fast food connoisseur, I really like digging into the history of these places (past and present).  I've spent hours on the net researching and reading about the history of these places.  I plan on doing 1 fast-food chain (or even a single local place) every week. So make sure you hit the appropriate button or link to subscribe to this feed and you will never miss an episode. Of course, if you have a suggestion of a place I should research and do an episode about, contact me.  mike@mikedell.com Just remember, Fast food is NOT good for you every day or for every meal. ENJOY fast food responsibly! Everything in moderation.