Groceteria.com

Speaking of Burger Chef, here's a location in Danville, Illinois that has changed its name but still uses the original menu and has lots of memorabilia:

http://www.geocities.com/sandyshamburgers1/bc/bc.html

For a while, it seemed like there were more surviving Burger Chef birdhouses than old Burger Chef buildings, at least around here. There was one strech of Hull Street Road, now developed with all of the usual retail suspects, where it appeared that the Burger Chef Birdhouse Man had visited every other property to put up a birdhouse.

Dave wrote:For a while, it seemed like there were more surviving Burger Chef birdhouses than old Burger Chef buildings, at least around here.

I love running across old Burger Chefs. They're usually considered a more midwestern and southern chain, but I've found stragglers in Fresno and Redwood City CA as well.

Groceteria wrote:

Dave wrote:For a while, it seemed like there were more surviving Burger Chef birdhouses than old Burger Chef buildings, at least around here.

I love running across old Burger Chefs. They're usually considered a more midwestern and southern chain, but I've found stragglers in Fresno and Redwood City CA as well.

What's odd is that the Redwood City and Rancho Cordova examples both are now used for automotive purposes (the Redwood City location being used as a buildnig for Menlo Honda, and if my Google research is correct, the Rancho Cordova location is now an auto lube place - haven't visited that one yet).

The Woodland location is now a pizza place (photographed it on Tuesday).

In Sacramento there was a Burger Chef on Fruitridge Rd east of 24th St in the early 70's. After closing it was an independent burger joint then it became a Dairy Queen in the 80's.

I ate at Schroeder's just a couple of weeks ago...I stop there anytime I go through Danville.

That store was originally Burger Chef #57 and was one of the most successful in the chain. The Schroeder family has owned and operated the store since it opened as a Burger Chef in 1960.

The interior is late 70's Burger Chef (plus a whole bunch of display cases full of war plane memorabilia and Burger Chef stuff). The old flame broiler still works. They have cheesy muzak. The sandwiches have different names (the "Big Shef" is their "Double Decker" and the "Super Shef" is the "Super Deluxe") and aren't made exactly the same, but they're as close as you'll come. And the locals love them, just as they should.

It's one of the best examples of a retro fast food joint operating in the country today.

Groceteria wrote:I love running across old Burger Chefs. They're usually considered a more midwestern and southern chain, but I've found stragglers in Fresno and Redwood City CA as well.

I just caught this... do you remember where the one you saw in Fresno was? I don't recall ever seeing it.

Daniel wrote:I just caught this... do you remember where the one you saw in Fresno was? I don't recall ever seeing it.

It's in the 5300 block of Blackstone, near Barstow. It's in the same center as a Big Lots that was originally a Marina-style Safeway (which you can just barely see in the photo):

You know, I'm usually super observant about these things but that one totally flew past me, and the more embarrasing thing is I have actually eaten in that restaurant!

*Now* I can see the bottom of the Burger Chef sign frame and the roof structure. The interior and a lot of the exterior has been stuccoed over, though. I guess I never thought to look for a Burger Chef when I lived there since I never thought they got to that area!

hm the only locations that i can think of in virginia moth in richmond, no 1 was at medowdale blvd where a windy's is, & number 2 was on midlothian turnpike accross the road from books a million, it's curently a hybrid kfc/A&w store.

kris-alyx wrote:hm the only locations that i can think of in virginia moth in richmond, no 1 was at medowdale blvd where a windy's is, & number 2 was on midlothian turnpike accross the road from books a million, it's curently a hybrid kfc/A&w store.

There were Burger Chefs in Richmond at Eastgate Mall, Parham Road at the Ridge SC, Belt Boulevard, at Azalea Mall, on Broad across from Willow Lawn, and on Jeff Davis near Hull. There were others over the years as well.

The KFC/A&W on Midlothian was never the site of a Burger Chef and is a newer modular building. There was never one on Meadowdale, either; there may have been one on Hopkins at the Meadowbrook Plaza SC which is now Wendy's, but it would be an exception to the fact that most of the old Burger Chef locations converted to and are still Hardee's.

well your right on the hopkins road one but wrong on the kfc/a&w what i ment before that was rebuilt in it's first incarnation it was a burger chef.

As for Burger Chef, that was before my time, but how widespread were they in this area? On Highway 99 between Everett and Lynwood there's a certain sign that's always struck me as being a possible leftover from a former Burger Chef location. You can see it on Google Streetview here:

Link

Burger Chef must have retreated from New England and the West Coast prior to being absorbed by Hardee's in 1982. Most surviving West and New England examples are of the "kite" prototype, typical of the 1960s and Hardee's did not gain a presence in these regions(until the forced conversion of Roy Rogers in 1990 gave them a short lived New England presence).

A "rogue" Burger Chef survived in Cookeville, TN until 1996. Also a unit operated in Greeneville, TN until the early 1990's. An interesting feature of the Cookeville store was that it had been converted from the "kite" prototype to the 1970s mansard roof prototype.

http://www.freewebs.com/burgerchef/2cookvilletn.htm

Brian Lutz wrote:As for Burger Chef, that was before my time, but how widespread were they in this area?

Burger Chef only made it as far north as the Portland-Vancouver market. There's an intact "Cosmo 2" Burger Chef building near Portland State University. I've got to think it's only a matter of time before it gets swallowed up by the surrounding development.