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.

Battle of the Good Friday Fish Sandwiches – March 30, 1972

As noted on Christianity.com, "Good Friday, the Friday before Easter, is the Christian day to commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus and His death at Calvary.

"On Good Friday, we remember the day Jesus willingly suffered and died by crucifixion as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins."

As it is a Friday (Good or otherwise), that means no meat for Catholics. And back on Good Friday in March 1972, that provided an opportunity for two of the lesser fast food giants in Lorain to promote their own fish sandwich special and hopefully reel in some customers.

First up is my sentimental favorite: Sandy's. Sandy's offered its fish sandwich for a thrifty 25 cents each or 4 for a dollar. Here's the Journal ad that ran on March 30, 1972.

In case Sandy's didn't hook enough customers with its fish sandwich special, the restaurant chain reminded kids to stop in on Saturday for a free Easter egg give away.

Right next to the Sandy's ad in the same edition of the Journal was this ad for Burger Chef.

Burger Chef (seen in one episode of Mad Men) aimed a little higher creatively – naming its sandwich "Skipper's Treat™" and utilizing some maritime graphics. Unfortunately, its sandwiches were 3 for a dollar – possibly scuttling its hopes of torpedoing Sandy's promotion.

Oddly enough, McDonald's apparently stayed out of the Good Friday finny fray, perhaps hoping the two wannabes would sink each other.

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Although I'm not Catholic, I succumbed to all of the fish fry signs around town and carried out a tasty fish sandwich dinner from Chris' Restaurant on West Erie Ave. last week. Chris' was my Mom's favorite restaurant. I've noted before (on this post) how she often referred to it as Chris Cafe (which was the name of a restaurant in South Lorain). The name 'Chris Cafe' just stuck in her head and was re-assigned to the restaurant on West Erie.

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.

Burger Chef Grand Opening – April 25, 1968

Fifty years ago (has it really been that long?), Burger Chef was about to open its first location in the Lorain area (see ad above). Actually, it was arguably closer to Elyria, since it was out there on Route 254 near Route 57.

At that time, Elyria's Burger Chef outlet on Lodi Street was already open – so it probably made sense to slowly branch out from it.

Lorain's W. 28th Street restaurant wouldn't hold its Grand Opening until October 1968 (see ad at left).

Burger Chef has been a favorite topic on this blog since 2009. I've done a variety of posts on the largely forgotten burger chain, including a few then-and-nows.

While I was familiar with the one on 28th Street in Lorain (a high school girlfriend worked there), I don’t think I ever visited the one on North Ridge Road (State Route 254).

The North Ridge Road store continued to appear in the Lorain City Directory until the 1977 edition, when its listing was briefly replaced by Brennan’s Restaurant. By the time of the 1978 directory, the location was taken over by Kenny King’s.

Today, the store in Elyria has been torn down. Lorain's 28th Street store (below) is boarded up and looking a little worse than the last time I photographed it.

Happily, the North Ridge Road location that hosted Kentucky Fried Chicken for many years before it closed is now the home of Cathy's Ice Cream.

Vintage cup currently on Ebay

Elyria's Burger Chef Today

As a follow-up to my post about Burger Chef last month...

I happened to be in Elyria recently, and while heading for home I saw the vision above; namely, the former Elyria Burger Chef located at the bend in the road where Lake Avenue meets West Avenue.

I'm still not sure why the address of the restaurant was indicated as 'Lodi Street' in the 1968 ad (at left).

Anyway, I had known that I was going to pass the old restaurant that day, so I brought my camera along just to grab this shot. Strangely enough – or perhaps by divine intervention – the JESUS SAVES sign was installed earlier that day (I saw the workers putting it up), just in time to make it into this shot and onto the internet for all eternity.

The menacing sky makes me think that it was no accident.

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UPDATE (June 28, 2016)
I drove by the building on June 9, 2016 and noticed that the former Burger Chef had recently been torn down. Sorry, Burger Chef and Jeff!

Burger Chef Grand Opening Ad – October 17, 1968

Although I've mentioned Lorain's long-gone Burger Chef on this blog many times (here, here and here), I've never had an actual date that the restaurant opened – until now.

The ad above ran in the Lorain Journal on Thursday, October 17, 1968 – 45 years ago today – and announced the restaurant's Grand Opening that weekend.

It's interesting that the restaurant's signature sandwich – the Big Shef – was spelled with a "S" instead of a "C." I wonder why?

The ad is also amusing how the photos of the hamburgers are lined up like so many yawning clams.

Anyway, although my friend Debi worked there in the summer after high school, I don't remember too much about Burger Chef except their TV cartoon spokespersons at the time, Burger Chef and Jeff!

And for a great tribute website dedicated to Burger Chef, click here.

That Burger Chef Roof-line

Last week (here) I was wondering if the former Burger Chef on W. 28th Street in Lorain (now the home of R & J Southern Style Cooking) originally had the distinctive inverted "V" roof-line that was typical of the chain back in the 1960's. The building looked so different now that I wasn't 100% sure that the original structure hadn't been torn down and replaced by the present one.

Fellow blogger Alan Hopewell's got an excellent memory, and he confirmed that the original restaurant did indeed look like the illustration at left.

Anyway, I happened to drive by the building again since then, and swung around to the back of it with my camera. Sure enough, you could easily see remnants of the original structure hidden by the fake 'roof' (below).

Since I was already curious, I also hit the microfilm and came up with the opening date: the middle of September 1968. So Alan's memory is batting a thousand.

Burger Chef - Then and Now (Sort of)

A typical mid-1970's Burger Chef (Courtesy JSF's Burger Chef Tribute Website)

Way back here in 2009, I blogged about the Burger Chef at 28th Street and Broadway in Lorain.

Readers of this blog might remember that Burger Chef, at that location since September 1968, is where fellow blogger Alan Hopewell used to hang out and swill coffee with his buddies (read about those days right here in Alan's blog). It's also where my pal Debi used to serve up those hot, crispy, golden-brown french fries during the summer of 1977.

The restaurant later became a Hardee's in the early 1990's before eventually closing.

Anyway, I happened to drive by the former Burger Chef this past weekend and grabbed a shot. It's now R & J Southern Style Cooking (below).

Here's a link to their website.

I wish them the best of luck with their restaurant. Besides its unique concept, it's got a nice high-profile location with a lot of good Lorain food memories.

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Visit JSF's Burger Chef Tribute website for some great Burger Chef memories!

Forgotten Fast Foods: Burger Chef

Burger Chef is another largely forgotten burger chain that was big in Lorain County before eventually meeting the same fate as Sandy's – that is, being gobbled up by Hardees like a hot, crispy golden brown French fry.

   The Burger Chef at 28th and Broadway first appeared in the Lorain phone book in 1970, making the chain a relative latecomer to the fast food burger scene in Lorain County. There were also stores at 2115 N. Ridge Road, as well as 4835 Liberty in Vermilion.

   Even though one would think that having "burger" in the name might be an advantage, it didn't seem to help this chain. A possible disadvantage would be its lack of a memorable spokesperson or mascot like Ronald McDonald. There was a cartoon chef on the sign out front, but I don't recall any commercials featuring him. I do remember commercials with Burger Chef and Jeff, two of the most forgettable advertising mascots ever created. The chain also used a smiley face with a chef's hat as its logo for a while, literally putting a happy face on the situation.

   Burger Chef managed to hold on at the 113 28th Street location until around 1990, when it became Hardees. Today, it's just an empty building.

  Although the chain is long gone, a quick search on the Internet reveals that there are a lot of die-hard Burger Chef fans out there with websites. JSF's Burger Chef Tribute website is one of them. And don't miss the NEW Images of America publication featuring Burger Chef, which you can order from Amazon by clicking here!