Kelly's Hamburgers Becomes Casey's – March 1965

Casey's Drive-in, the defunct Northeast Ohio hamburger chain that had restaurants in Lorain, Vermilion, Elyria, Rocky River and North Royalton has been a favorite topic on this blog. As I've noted before, there's not much on the internet about this chain that had hoped to mimic McDonald's success. 

There's not much about the short-lived chain that preceded Casey's – namely, the Dania, Florida-based Kelly's Hamburgers – either. I did a post about the 1962 Grand Opening of the Kelly's restaurant on North Ridge Road across from the O'Neil - Sheffield Center back here.

Is that a McD-like arch as part of the sign?

Well, here’s another piece of the puzzle. The defunct-brands.fandom.com website notes, “Kelly's Hamburgers (going under the corporate name of Kelly's Jet System) was established in 1958 with the opening of a restaurant location in Hallandale Beach, Florida. It was a division of Continental Franchises, Inc., a company which (as the name suggests) specializes in franchises and leasing. Said company planned to open around 50 restaurants under the Kelly's name throughout the United States.

"By the early 1960's, Kelly's operated several hamburger stands throughout the states of Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Virginia, and Wisconsin. 

"In 1964, Kelly's merged with competitor chain Mr. Moe Drive In. This caused a small number of Kelly's locations to close and re-open as Mr. Moe a year later. Despite this however, Kelly's continued to operate under their own name throughout the following years.

"Not much is known about the Kelly's chain, with it being assumed that most of the chain disappeared in 1974, with the chain’s final locations closing sometime in 1976." 

Apparently, the merger with Mr. Moe must have muddied the waters for the sole Kelly's restaurant in Lorain County, and the owners decided to switch their affiliation to a brand new chain: Casey's Drive-in. This article from the March 6, 1965 Lorain Journal tells the story.

In that same edition of the Journal, an ad on the restaurant page sought to reassure existing customers that only the name was being changed – not the staff, food or service.

It's interesting that the mustachioed Casey baseball mascot hadn't been created yet by the ad agency, or it wasn't provided to the Journal for use in the ad.

The people behind Casey's wasted no time expanding. Within a few months, construction began on the Vermilion restaurant, as noted in this Journal article from the May 12, 1965 outlet.

For a while there were only three restaurants: the one on North Ridge, the one in Vermilion, and one on Center Ridge in Rocky River.

Oct. 28, 1966 Journal ad

The restaurant on W. 21st Street in Lorain held its Grand Opening on December 14, 1968.

Unfortunately, the Casey's Drive-ins in Lorain and Elyria seemed to be a favorite for stickup artists. Here's a news item about the restaurant on North Ridge Road being robbed, from the May 14, 1970 Journal.

The Casey's restaurant on North Ridge was vacant by the time of the 1970 city directories, but the one in Lorain stepped up to the plate to keep the chain alive during that decade. In time, the mascot was dropped, in favor of making room in the ads for more food specials and promotions.

Sept. 24, 1970

Aug. 28, 1975

The Casey's restaurant on W. 21st Street remained open up until the latter half of the 1980s, when Pine Garden Restaurant replaced it at that location.

March 17, 1988

Pine Garden was a hit with the Journal, who gave it a hearty thumbs up in its restaurant review columns.

Pine Garden is still in business at the W. 21st Street location. Sadly, the former Kelly's/Casey's North Ridge Road location remains boarded up after a series of subsequent eateries tried to make a go of it there.

The view from yesterday

The days of the small, regional burger chains designed to challenge the big boys (both literally and figuratively) are apparently over. Nevertheless, the 1960s remain a fascinating time for fast food, during which many of the now-biggest names experienced massive growth, and the little ones like Kelly's and Casey's struck out.

Casey’s Drive-in Grand Opening – December 1968

Forty-eight years ago this month, a new fast food drive-in “stepped up to the plate” to take on McDonald’s and Sandy’s on the west side of Lorain.

As seen in the full-page ad above which ran in the Journal on December 13, 1968, Casey’s Drive-in was that rookie hamburger chain. It celebrated the Grand Opening of its West 21st Street location on December 14 and 15, 1968.

It would later be joined by another location in Lorain on Route 254, as well as outlets in Vermilion, Elyria, Rocky River and North Royalton.

Drawing on the 1888 baseball poem "Casey at the Bat" for its theme, Casey’s Drive-in had a great old time ballplayer advertising mascot. The restaurant also had a real, live Casey to make personal appearances (as noted in the above Grand Opening ad). This real Casey also appeared in some ads in place of the cartoon mascot, such as this late 1960s ad from the Elyria phone book.

Casey’s used its baseball theme to good marketing advantage, sometimes employing personal appearances by Cleveland Indians players (which I wrote about here).

Today, the largely forgotten restaurant chain's West 21st Street location in Lorain is home to the popular Pine Garden Chinese-American Restaurant.

Casey's Drive In Ad Featuring 1969 Cleveland Indians

Here's kind of a neat Lorain Journal newspaper ad for local hamburger chain Casey's Drive In, one of the topics (here) from the first year of this blog.

The ad dates from late June 1969 and features upcoming in-store appearances from some of the Cleveland Indians that year. (Give it a click so you can read it.) Looks like Luis Tiant was at the Casey's by me on 21st Street.

We were big into the Indians about that time, thanks to the free tickets we used to get from the Cleveland Press for getting straight A's on our report cards. It was a nice deal. We saw a lot of free games that way.

Back here I explained how I got Dave Nelson's autograph in 1968.

The Casey's deal shown above sure was a nice promotion for the kids. I highly doubt that any Major League ballplayers would be doing that sort of thing today on their day off – which helps explain why some kids, while growing up, never bond with the local team and root for other teams (like the Yankees) instead.

Forgotten Fast Foods: Casey's Drive In

I don't remember ever eating at Casey's Drive In as a kid, although I was certainly aware of it, as it was located across from Westgate Shopping Center at 2519 21st Street. The restaurant first appeared in the phone book around 1968, with locations at 1390 N. Ridge Road (across from O'Neil's) and at 4835 Liberty Avenue in Vermilion. The 21st Street store in Lorain followed in 1969. There were Elyria locations as well.

   The ads for this chain are interesting, because the Elyria phone book ads featured a photo of a real live "Casey" dressed in an old-time baseball uniform leaning on a bat, and the Lorain phone book ads featured a cartoon ballplayer mascot holding up a hamburger. I liked the cartoon mascot a lot, but apparently not enough to eat there!

   I haven't been able to find out much about the restaurant chain. It probably was a regional endeavor... but I'll keep Googling until I find something.

   Although Casey's was not in the same league as McDonald's, the chain must have had a pretty successful formula. The 21st Street store lasted almost 20 years, finally closing around 1987. Pine Gardens restaurant replaced it at the location and is still in business today.

Casey’s Drive-in Ad – March 23, 1968

This blog is still one of the few places on the internet where you can find any mention of Casey’s Drive-in, the Northeast Ohio hamburger chain with the baseball theme that had restaurants in Lorain, Elyria, Vermilion, Rocky River and North Royalton. (I’ve done many posts about it since 2009.)

Well, here’s another vintage newspaper ad to add to the growing collection of online Casey’s memorabilia.  It ran in the Lorain Journal on March 23, 1968 – fifty years ago this month.

It’s a clever promotion, giving away kites in the windy month of March with the restaurant’s great Casey mascot on it. But more importantly, it has the one ingredient that is missing from most fast food restaurant marketing campaigns today: fun.

Today’s fast food restaurants try to convince potential customers that their food is the freshest, or that you can get your meal exactly how you want it, as if you made it yourself in your own kitchen – with local ingredients. 

My thought is that if I wanted that, then I would buy the ingredients at my local grocery store and make it myself for a lot less money.

I much prefer the days when fast food was a treat, and something fun.

Route 57 Burger King Ad – August 1969

Detail from a 1969 Lorain phone book ad

Fifty years ago this month, Burger King made its entry into the Lorain fast food market, opening an outlet on Route 57 at Fairless Drive.

Above is the clever ad announcing exactly that. It ran in the Lorain Journal on August 1, 1969. As you can see from the ad, Elyria had the first Burger King locally.

As I noted back in this post, Burger King was playing catch-up (no pun intended) with its burger rivals. McDonald’s had been in Lorain since late June 1960; Sandy’s on Meister Road followed in June 1965; even Casey’s was already a hit in Lorain, opening its West 21st Street store in December 1968.

But Burger King has had the last laugh when it comes to longevity. Its restaurants on Fairless Drive and Leavitt Road are still thriving, decades after they opened, while all of the original McDonald’s restaurants on West Erie, Colorado Avenue and North Ridge are long gone. And of course, Sandy’s and Casey’s have been relegated to the burger dustbin of history.

Anyway, I enjoy the occasional Burger King hamburger as a special treat, especially since the service seems faster these days than what you experience at the home of the Golden Arches. And since I’m a big Tim Hortons fan, I like to patronize its parent company. (Burger King bought the iconic Canadian coffee & donut restaurant chain back in 2014.)

The Fairless Drive restaurant this past weekend

Grand Opening of Kelly's Jet System Hamburgers – August 24, 1962

There were many hamburger chains that were launched in the 1950s and 60s to compete with McDonald's. Unfortunately, most of them (except for Burger King) ended up flattened like a burger under a heavy spatula by the staggering power of the mighty Golden Arches.

I've written about a few of the burger wanna-be's that tried their luck in Lorain County, including Sandy's Hamburgers and Casey's Drive-in. But there was one that came and went so fast that it is little-remembered today: Kelly's. That's why it's ironic that its building remains there on North Ridge Road, across from the old Sheffield Center.

And below is the full-page Grand Opening ad for Kelly's that appeared in the Journal back on August 24, 1962.

It seems like McDonald's was certainly the template for Kelly's. McDonald's had its 'Speedee Service System;' Kelly's was called 'Jet System.' Even Kelly's sign featured an arch of sorts.

This green, vintage paper hat makes me think that the name Kelly's might have originally signaled an Irish theme. 

But somehow the mascot resembling a butler doesn't jive with that theory, or the whole futuristic 'Jet System' gimmick either.

Like I said back on this post, Kelly's became a Casey's Drive-in by the time of the 1966 city directory. I guess people just didn't 'love that Kelly's' enough to keep it in business.

Kelly's Jet System Hamburgers – 1963

St. Patrick's Day is almost here, so here's a St. Pat-themed ad for Kelly's Jet System Hamburgers that ran in the Lorain Journal on March 15, 1963 – 50 years ago this week.

What's that? You don't remember that particular hamburger chain?

I gotta admit, I didn't either – even though the fast food outlet was on North Ridge Road right across from the O'Neil - Sheffield Center.

Kelly's Hamburger Drive-in first appeared in the 1963 Lorain City Directory at 1390 N. Ridge Road – but not for long. After only a few years, the outlet was listed as a Casey's Drive-in in the 1966 directory.

And then, by the time of the 1970 directory, the building was listed as vacant. It would take until the 1974 book for another tenant to take over: Mary's Ice Cream Parlor.

The former Kelly's/Casey's building is still there today (below), with a new address – 42675 N. Ridge. The building retains some of the Kelly's diamond-shaped graphics.

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There's not too much about the Kelly's Hamburger system on the internet. This Flickr® site included the vintage photo below of a Kelly's outlet in Warren, Michigan.

And this Flickr set includes a vintage Kelly's ad.

Otto Graham at Cedar Point – June 17, 1955

Remember when famous professional athletes from your favorite local team used to make personal appearances at shopping centers and fast food drive-ins? You actually had a chance to meet them and get an autographed photo.

I've written about a few of these events, including this promotion for Casey's Drive-in that featured several Cleveland Indian ballplayers, and this one at Sears that featured several Cleveland Browns players.

Otto Graham and Cleveland Browns
Head Coach Paul Brown

Well, at the top of this post is an ad that appeared in the Lorain Journal seventy years ago today on June 17, 1955. It was announcing an appearance the next day at Cedar Point by Cleveland Browns quarterback Otto Graham, sponsored by Esmond Dairy. As the ad notes, you could shake hands with him and get an "ottograph" from Otto.

As his Wiki entry notes, "Otto Everett Graham Jr. (December 6, 1921 – December 17, 2003) was an American professional football quarterback who played for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons. 

"Graham is regarded by critics as one of the most dominant players of his era and one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, having taken the Browns to league championship games every year between 1946 and 1955, making ten championship appearances, and winning seven of them. With Graham at quarterback, the Browns posted a record of 105 wins, 17 losses, and 4 ties, including a 9–3 win–loss record in the AAFC and NFL playoffs. He holds the NFL record for career average yards gained per pass attempt, with 8.63. He also holds the record for the highest career winning percentage for an NFL starting quarterback, at 81.0%."

Also on the bill that day at Cedar Point was Casey, the Homer Hitting Hen. Here's a promotional ad for the the plucky pullet from the March 7, 1955 issue of the Food Field Reporter.

So how did it work? According to another article in the same issue, there were four trained Caseys. "The birds are taught to peck at a rubber loop which operates an electric switch. The switch swings a small baseball bat that backs a small rubber ball through what looks like a pinball machine. If the ball bounces around the rubber baseballl figures and hits the fence at the back of the field, it creates another electrical contact. This causes lights to go on, a buzzer to sound, and a few grains of chicken feed to drop in a cup at the end of a runway.

"As soon as the ball hits the homerun contact, the chicken knows it will receive food and rushes down the runway to get it. If then comes back to pluck at the rubber loop again. If the ball does not reach the back fence, the chicken knows it. If the lights do not go on and the buzzer does not sound, the chicken knows there will be no food, and so pulls on the loop again to try for a homer.

Casey's owner, Keller Breland Associates, distributed a list of rental rates for their various attractions. One found online and dated 10/1/55 noted that to rent Casey for a week cost $400, with a 20% discount for each additional week.

That ain't chicken feed.

Burger Chef Ad – October 5, 1971

Hamburgers used to rule the fast-food world, but times have changed.

These days, it’s impossible to find a simple ‘hamburger' even listed on the giant McDonald’s digital menu board, as the classic fast food item has been crowded out by more exotic (and expensive) offerings. 

I often wonder how many hamburgers are even ordered there these days? 

Anyway, back in 1971, hamburgers were still king, and the burger barons – McDonald’s, Burger King, Sandy’s, Casey's and Burger Chef – were all battling it out in Lorain.

Burger Chef seemed to run the most ads in the Journal, and here’s one of them. It ran in the paper on October 5, 1971 – fifty years ago this month.

The theme of the ad is giving mothers a break from cooking on Wednesdays, with specially priced Burger Chef burgers on that night. It’s a great idea, and I’m sure it drummed up business on perhaps what was normally a slow weekday.

Nowadays, of course, eating out is something that happens several times a week for many families, and every day for some people.

But fifty years ago, like I’ve mentioned many times on this blog, having food from McDonald’s or Sandy’s was a rare treat for us, something that only happened when Mom and Dad were going out to eat themselves with some friends. Then they would ask my siblings and me what we would like, and Dad would be dispatched (like a true food gatherer) to pick it up.

Happy Thanksgiving – 1965 Style!

Well, it’s Thanksgiving – so here’s hoping all of you enjoy the day, perhaps enjoying a fine meal with friends and family as you contemplate your blessings.

And in honor of the holiday, here are a couple more Thanksgiving-themed ads from the pages of the Lorain Journal.

First, here’s another one of those full-page sponsored ads that the paper used to run each year. This one is from 1965.

At least this one doesn’t feature the Grim Reaper, as so many of the other ones did – for July 4th, New Year’s Eve, School’s in Session, etc.

Not too many companies from the sponsor list are around today, mainly Columbia Gas and the successors to the various banks. But I’m pretty sure Ed’s Transmission is still chugging along on all cylinders in Elyria, and Dairymens still distributes its fine products in our area.

But Kline’s, Edna’s Hitching Post, George May Ford, A&P, Harry’s Mens Wear, Broadway Bowling Lanes, Bazley Market, Herb’s 333, Jacoby Food Fair, and Casey’s Drive-In are all just nostalgia blog fodder today.

My second Thanksgiving ad is one for Hart’s, billed in its November 21, 1946 ad as “Lorain’s Largest Jewelry Store.”

That’s a good-looking Pilgrim Turkey with an authentic-looking snood.

Anyway, it’s always fun seeing the prices on these vintage ads, such as a safety razor (18 cents), a man’s Elgin or Bulova watch ($67.50) and a women’s six diamond pair 14K yellow gold rings ($175).

In today’s prices, that’s $2.33, $875.37, and $2,269.48.

Vintage St. Patrick’s Day Ads – 1967

Well, it’s St. Patrick’s Day, so it’s time to post some vintage ads from the Journal with that particular theme. These three ads all appeared in the Journal just in time for St. Patrick’s Day 1967 – 50 years ago today.

Since I’ve spent most of the week blogging about car washes and auto dealerships, it’s appropriate that the one at the top of this post is for Si Gary Dodge. The ad uses an unusually pie-faced leprechaun and some nice headline type.

This ad for the Reidy Scanlan Company (below) has great typography too. But it also has a leprechaun that (to me, anyway) seems to hearken back to the 1800s when Irishmen were depicted as ape-like in editorial cartoons. (But I’m not offended; besides, I was working on a bunch of bananas from the grocery store earlier in the week.)

Lastly in this 1967 St. Patrick’s Day Parade of ads is this one for Casey’s Drive-in. In this case, the ad steers clear of leprechauns and just plunks a shamrock onto the layout so as not to take away from Casey the mascot.

Like me, you might be wondering what “Faith an’ Begorra” means. Apparently it is a cliché, a sort of mild oath that evolved from “By my Faith” and “By God.” 

One online source said that real Irishmen never say it without a tongue planted firmly in their cheek, as it is an example of a stereotypical Irish expression.

Anyway, Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Vermilion Burger Chef Ad – April 1, 1975

The rise of the hamburger as a fast food item in the 1960s continues to be a source of interest to me on this blog. I've devoted many posts to McDonald's and Burger King, as well as both national and regional wanna-be's (Sandy's, Hardee's, Kelly's, Casey's and Burger Chef) that hoped to dethrone them.

And speaking of Burger Chef, did you know that there was one in Vermilion? I didn't, until I saw the ad above, which ran in the Lorain Journal back on April 1, 1975. I was aware of the one on 28th Street near Broadway (a girl I was dating worked there) but had no idea that my current town of Vermilion had one.

The ad reflects that it was under different ownership that the one in Lorain. The Vermilion ad is pretty unique, and seems to be channeling Wendy's old-fashioned shtick. Here's an ad for the Lorain Burger Chef from a day later on April 2, 1975 for comparison.

Alas, by 1975 Burger Chef and Jeff appear to have been put out to pasture (somewhat appropriate as that's where Burger Chef steers were grazing) and replaced by the insipid Smiley face logo.

What's that? You don't remember Burger Chef and Jeff?

They were the animated cartoon mascots for Burger Chef, featured in TV commercials and ads, and doing battle against Ronald McDonald and the Burger King. Here they are on a plastic hand puppet that somehow survived over the last 50 years, currently on eBay. The duo seem to be joined at the hip.

Since the happy, waving partners weren't on the Burger Chef sign in front of the Lorain restaurant on W. 28th Street (as seen on this generic vintage postcard, I used to wonder who the mustachioed chef was.

Anyway, how long was the one in Vermilion open? Here's the Grand Opening ad that ran in the Journal on July 12, 1973. Hmmm... I see Jeff and Smiley in the ad. Where's the Chef himself?

The restaurant lasted until the 1980s, when a fire struck the outlet on April 1, 1984.

Apparently the restaurant did not reopen. This article from a few months later on July 25, 1984 indicated that a new Rax restaurant would be built on the site of the former Burger Chef.

Today the location is home to Fiesta Cancun Authentic Mexican Food & Cantina.

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For a time, Burger Chef featured the Fun Burger, apparently designed to compete with McDonalds' Kids Meal. Here's a commercial with Burger Chef and Jeff introducing it. (Note that the Burger Chef is voiced by none other than Paul Winchell, the voice of Tigger in the Winnie-the-Pooh movie features, Dick Dastardly on Wacky Races, and Gargamel on The Smurfs.

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Here's the Grand Opening ad for the Rax Restaurant that replaced the Burger Chef in Vermilion. It ran in the Journal on October 30, 1984.