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.