Yum! The Yumbo! – May 1970

Remember the Yumbo?

No, that's not a little known battle cry from the Spanish-American War. I'm talking about the Yumbo – a sandwich that was once offered at Burger King. According to the ad above, which appeared in the Lorain Journal on May 21, 1970, it comprised "a generous portion of thinly sliced smoked ham with American cheese on a special egg roll, served piping hot."

I guess that makes it a hot ham and cheese sandwich – which usually sounds pretty good to me. Here's an illustration of one, courtesy of Retroist.com, which has a nice writeup about the Yumbo. 

The article notes that the bun was eventually changed to a more conventional sesame seed one.

(Unfortunately, the name "Yumbo" makes me think of "Dumbo" and/or "Jumbo," two famous elephants. And while elephant ears are a tasty treat, elephants in general don't exactly have a positive effect on my appetite, thanks to their dry, leathery skin.)

The Yumbo remained on the Burger King menu until 1974. 

But then a funny thing happened. It seems to be one of those sandwiches – like McDonald's McRib – that just keeps coming back. It returned to the menu at participating restaurants in 1988. Here's a commercial that ran on a Toledo TV station.

More impressively, the Yumbo made a full-fledged comeback in December, 2014 – 40 years later after it was retired in 1974 – thanks to popular demand. Of course, the price went up – to $3.69. And it looked a lot different.

I don't think the Yumbo is still on the Burger King menu, but I wouldn't be surprised if it made another yummy comeback.

The Burger King Visits Lorain – August 7, 1972

Burger King seems to turn up on this blog regularly as a topic. 

Why? Because I have favorable feelings toward the burger chain. Unlike McDonald's, Burger King has never closed or moved its original Lorain outlets. Both were open by 1970, right where they are now – on Fairless Drive and Leavitt Road. And I still go to the one on Leavitt Road – especially since Vermilion lost its own Burger King.

To compete with the popular Ronald McDonald, Burger King created its own mascot – a cartoon king. Naturally, the company wanted a costumed version of him to be able to appear at the restaurants.

And that's what's going on the photo below, which appeared in the Journal back on August 7, 1972.

As the caption notes, "Children, such as 8-year-old Jeffery Konowal, son of Mr. and Mrs. James Konowal of 2825 Lexington Ave., Lorain, grow up in a world of giants. But this time Jeff met a new and unusual fellow, Mr. Burger King, the Disney Studios' newly designed trademark for the hamburger palace chain. Jeff, who shook hands with The King as District Manager Mike Reed looked on, was in on the second public appearance of the sunny, curly-haired fellow at Burger King's Leavitt Road stand. The King now goes on to visit each of the 900 Burger King restaurants coast to coast."

It's interesting the Disney Studios were involved in the creation of the Burger King mascot. Disney also created the Orange Bird mascot for the Florida Citrus Commission.

I can see where the Disney Studios would be pretty helpful in the design of a walk-around character. That's what the company does best when it comes to populating its theme parks with live-action versions of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, etc. And the Burger King in the photo looks not unlike one of the Seven Dwarves. 

But the cartoon King himself apparently wasn't endearing or lovable enough to take on the McDonald's juggernaut, and was eventually exiled.

****

Click here to visit my past posts on Burger King.

Give the Gift of Burger King – Dec. 1971

Fifty years ago, Burger King was promoting the idea of giving Burger King Gift Certificates as Christmas presents. The books sold for $5.00 and had ten coupons worth 50 cents.

The above ad ran in the Journal on December 20, 1971.

Although 50 cents doesn’t sound like much now, it could still cover the cost of a hamburger back then (but not a Whopper).

It’s interesting seeing the old Burger King mascot. I remember him having a slightly befuddled voice, with his tagline being, “Burger King...where kids are king!”

Here’s a sample of his animated antics.

Being partial to cartoon mascots, I liked him better than the live-action “Marvelous Magical Burger King" that was introduced later in the 1970s. Apparently, he was supposed to compete with Ronald McDonald.

A mute version of that guy became the much-later creepy Burger King with the face that was basically a mask with a frozen expression.

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

Burger King’s New Retro Look

Burger King on Leavitt Road as it looked last weekend

Most of my mid-70s high school fast food hangouts on the west side of Lorain are long gone: the McDonald’s on West Erie; the Hardees on Oberlin Avenue; the Pizza Hut on Oberlin Avenue; the Kentucky Fried Chicken on Oberlin Avenue; the Burger Chef on 28th Street; the Taco Bell, as well as the Wendy’s, on Cooper-Foster.

Many of these restaurants were replaced by a new store in another location. A few simply closed for good. But there’s one still open in the same location more than 45 years after it opened its doors: the Burger King on Leavitt Road near W. 21st Street.

It’s an impressive feat for a store in Lorain, and it speaks volumes for the quality of its food and service.

Anyway, I was there over the weekend, and it gave me an opportunity to admire its recent makeover. It’s both modern and retro. What I really like are the cut-out letters spelling out "FLAME GRILLING SINCE 1954" over the entrance.

The restaurant looks more upscale thanks to the renovation, and should enjoy continued success at that location. 

****

A while back, I wrote about the numbering system of the McDonald’s restaurants. In the interest of equal time, the Burger King on Leavitt Road is No. 680 (out of more than 15,000 restaurants)!

Here’s the proof (below). (No, I didn’t eat both Whopper Juniors.)

The Burger King on Root Road that's only a little more than a mile from my house has a slightly higher number: No. 13,028! 

1969 Burger King Phone Book Ad

1969 Lorain Phone Book ad

Last week I posted the late June 1960 Grand Opening ad for the McDonald's on West Erie, which got me wondering when McDonald's arch-nemesis – Burger King – entered the local fast food market.

Burger King was kind of a latecomer to the area, arriving after McDonald's and Sandy's. Its first ad appeared in the November 1969 phone book (above), promoting two locations: one out in South Lorain on Fairless Drive near Kmart, as well as one in Elyria on Broad Street. By the time of the 1970 phone book, Burger King had added the restaurant on Leavitt Road (Route 58) near W. 21st Street.

The 1969 phone book ad is interesting to me because it includes the original, little-remembered king mascot that looks like he belongs in a nursery rhyme. He was replaced in the late 1960s by the more cartoony guy at right, who was featured in TV commercials and had a blustery personality. The burger chain later went with a live-action king.

To visit a great website with a visual history of not only Burger King advertising but McDonald's, Wendy's, Dairy Queen, Arby's, Hardee's, and a few others, click here. And to learn specifically about all of the various Burger King mascots through the years, click here.

The Burger King restaurant on Leavitt Road was the one my family went to once in a while. I remember we were fairly excited to give it a try after seeing all those Whopper commercials – and we weren't disappointed.

Speaking of commercials, here's a few vintage ones to jog your memory. The one I remember well – with the poor guy in handcuffs trying to eat his Burger King french fries – is in there too.

I don't make it to Burger King too often these days, although ironically there is one just a little over a mile from my house. But it comes in handy once in a while.

In contrast to McDonald's, who closed all three of the original Lorain locations (and built new restaurants elsewhere), Burger King still has restaurants at both the Leavitt Road and Fairless Drive locations.

The Burger King at Leavitt Road & W. 21st Street today