1968 my first job at 15. Worked there during the intro of the big chef and the ham and cheese. Remember peeling 50 lb bags of potatoes for slicing fries. Flame broiled burgers were the best of the day. Thanks for the memories.
Oh man, I miss Burger Chef. I was born in 1965, and BC was a treat. These commercials take me back. Our family preferred Burger Chef over Mc Donald's back in the day. Thanks for the memories.
Mine, too. The nearest Burger Chef was actually next door to a McDonalds in the early 70s. We never went to McDonalds once. It seemed like Burger Chef innovated everything that McDonalds eventually stole.
I was born in 1963 and for the life of me, I cant remember any of these commercials. I then realized back then we used to use commercial breaks to go to the bathroom, go to the kitchen and to see whats on other channels at that time :D I do remember my mom taking me and my 2 brothers to Burger Chef in the summer all the time after we finishwd swimming at the public pool. Loved their burgers.
Commercials suck wind nowadays These were great but what do we have today? GEICO,My pillow Senior Life,Plexiderm,drug and lawyer and etc,etc Using the bathroom is a big step up
I worked there in 1969, it had a metal like belt that you put the meat patties on, at one end. on the receiving end was a perfect charbroiled patty.A bag of burgers where tasty and cheap.I saw a blue van role up ( smoke coming out of doors, windows) Both rear doors open , and about 12 hippies tumbled out on the pavement. I saw a many weird things working the night shift , but that was the funniest.
It's Paul Winchell as Burger Chef and Lionel Wilson as Jeff. The late 1970s-early 1980s Burger Chef insignia is the smiling bun wearing a chef's hat. RIP,1954-86.
*It still makes me furious that the idiots at General Foods would change the best and most recognized logo in the industry back then to some stupid text signage.*
NJP Vlogs -N- Stuff I’m in Michigan. Burger Chef is history unfortunately :( I grew up there..Star Wars fun meals, King Kong glasses, the mariner and even the chicken sandwich with bacon were all a part of my childhood.
Blows my mind. When I was a little kid, I had dozens of those king kong glasses. I had many of those star wars posters. Really brings you back in time.
Their burgers tasted much better than those today. They had a patented broiling system that I think Burger King still uses, but the patties were thinner so the flavor was all the way through. We never went to a McDonalds if there was a Burger Chef close by.
My Favorites at BURGER CHEF was Big CHEF w/cheese, Double Cheeseburger The Fish SANDWICH With cheese was called I think it Skippers Treat or Quarter DECK. The Apple pie & the large Vanilla Shake
I worked at burger Chef in the summer of 1964. 90 cents an hour. Nice size burger for 15 cents. Add a thick slice of cheddar an extra 3 cents. I made French fries every day out of Idaho potatos. Would wash, cut, wash them again, and blanch them for a couple minutes in clean oil. Into the freezer, ready to sell for the next day. 15 cents for a large bag of fries. I remember the Coke concentrate came in 1 gallon glass bottles. Can't recall what a coke was, probably a dime for a small one. No air conditioning in the place . I worked the grill and had two screen doors and two box fans on the floor , blowing hot outside air on me. Hot job, that grill. The owner was a fanatic about using clean oil in the deep fryer and kept the place spotless. Thanks for bringing these memories back!
Ha! I graduated High School in Austin, Texas, 1963. The Burger Chef commercial lyrics, set to a catchy tune, were, "...For a Nickel and a Dime you get: French Fried Potatoes, or a Big Thick Shake, or the Biggest Juiciest Hamburger yet!" Oh yeah! For less than a dollar, you could get both you and your date a hamburger/fries and a milk shake each!! :) That was apparently before they started the fancier large hamburgers... but they were very tasty!
Among other first already mentioned, Burger Chef was the first to have a breakfast menu with egg muffins, sausage and jelly dough nuts. (loved those dough nuts) As a teen I worked there the very first Saturday breakfast was introduced. The manager actually said something like "I hope I didn't schedule too many people to work. Who goes to a burger place for breakfast?" OMG, it was it's own version of a zombie apocalypse with the mob of people who came. (many of them morning zombie cranky)
I ate at Burger Chef in the early 70's in Providence RI, they had the first fixins bar next to the counter, you take your plain Burger to the bar and put on your mustard, ketchup, pickles, lettuce, tomato. I loved it.
I remember Wendy's having the salad bar. They had that untill the late 1990's. Buger Chef and Wendy's were the only two fast food restaurant with a salad bar. I dont remember these Burger Chef being in Pittsburgh Pa much past 1984. I remember one that closed and it became a Chinese take out .
I remember the Roy Rogers restaurant on a Massachusetts interstate which had a fixins bar. I used to load up on the tomato slices. I think that was before the sneez-gard was in common usage.
Going to Burger Chef and getting their Fun Meal was always such a treat for me. I loved the Fun Meal box (the best ever), the special toy and my all time favorite "swirl" chocolate cookie with chocolate filling that came with every Fun Meal.
Boy do these commercial bring good memories when I was a kid growing in the late 60's and 70's in Michigan. We had Burger Chef few miles away from us. Always got really excited about going. Thanks for posting.
I was a Manager at several units. First was Woodhaven on West Rd, then Taylor on Van Born, followed by Wayne Rd. (and Sims) and Cherry Hill & Wayne Rd -in front of the K-mart, Melvindale on Outer Drive. Also in Farmington, then back to Taylor for the conversion.....assisted in opening the location in Novi, by Twelve Oaks Mall and the Van Born-Telegraph Rd. (Taylor) units.
I remember growing up in Indiana. The one Burger Chef in Indianapolis was robbed. The robbers then forced the four closing employees, all teenagers into a car. All four were found shot to death a couple a days later. The murders went unsolved, even to this day, I think that didn’t help the situation since Burger Chef’s sales were already suffering at that point.
Yup. It was the Indianapolis suburb of Speedway. It remains unsolved because the incompetent Police didn’t check for evidence like fingerprints or ballistics. They foolishly accused the 4 victims of stealing money from the BC and leaving to go party. The irony of this is that it occurred Friday Night November 17,1978, the SAME night the Star Wars Holiday Special aired remember, they had a tie in with Star Wars, even more tragic, is that Jonestown occurred the following day. Burger Chef started having trouble by 1975, mainly because they weren’t consolidating and wanted to remain regional. They wanted quote to become “The Midwestern Whataburger”. Many Franchisees had approached them but BC didn’t want to franchise out and Parent Company General Foods thought it would be wiser to Just wait until 1979 to look at franchising and expansion to the Gulf Coast. Ultimately, on November 16,1982, General Foods sold the struggling chain to Imasco, Parent Company of Hardee’s who converted nearly all of its existing stores into Hardee’s. The Final Indiana based ones didn’t get converted into Hardee’s until December 1995.
I recall hearing about those murders. Being I worked at a Burger Chef in 64, it really bothered me. I worked at one just outside Chicago and there were no robberies back then that I recall. My folks left the front and back doors open, all night during the hot summer, with only the screen doors locked. We had no air conditioning, just a window fan. Now, that area has some real problems. Times are worse. Murders are every day. I won't eat at McDonald's or Burger King. God only knows what you're eating. @@plawson8577
*sigh* its a shame because Burger Chef was amazing!!! The food was really good and the prizes were awesome!!! Now its all garbage from the likes of McDonalds or Burger King, they are nothing compared to places like Burger Chef and others. This was a really iconic slice of Americana.
Burger Chef was always a great place for families in our hometown. Unfortunately its demise was McDonald's and Wendy's taking over their turf, along with Sonic, Checkers, Hardees, and Burger King...Competition was always a problem. Loved you always BC!
I used to get the Mariner at Burger Chef. I also used have a couple of those Star Wars posters. Still got the King Kong glass with the World Trade Center. I remember getting those fun meals too.
Wow! I had some of those King Kong glasses. I forgot they were from Burger Chef. I didn’t realize they had the licensing for Star Wars. That was huge. They were riding high at one time.
In a cruel twist of complete irony, the same night that the Star Wars Holiday Special aired 11/17/1978, 4 Burger Chef employees were abducted,robbed, and brutally murdered from a Speedway/Indianapolis store. In another SAD double whammy, the Jonestown Massacre occurred the following day. By the time the bodies of the 4 BC employees had been found, Jonestown was grabbing International headlines. Burger Chef NEVER recovered from this PR nightmare.
Early 1970s,. Went to burger chef near Flint Michigan often! They had very good burgers, and you could top them with what you wanted off the salad bar!
Oh! Thanks for doing this. I am shedding a small tear about how Arby's took away the end of my childhood by buying out and destroying the wonder that was Burger Chef. I am a bit sad to see that the commercials for the paper Star Wars string models are not here, though.
***** While the last time I checked, nationally, the closings were blamed on Hardees buying out the chain, when I was a kid in Michigan, there was no Hardees in my region. The Michigan Burger Chef restaurants were all sold off to Arby's and replaced with fast-food restaurants which were not the slightest bit appealing to kids.
***** The entire chain bit the dust by the early 1980s, but they were all bought out and converted to Arby's in Michigan around 1979. Takin my kids out for a McDonald's Happy Meal just does not cut it. I want them to experience the joy and wonder of the ORIGINAL, the Burger Chef Fun Meal, something of which I was deprived early on in life by Arby's.
Burger Chef was the ONLY restuarant in my region which catered specifically to children while I was growing up. It was over thirty miles from my home to the nearest Burger Chef, so I only got to eat there a couple of times per year. It was not quite as rare as Christmas, but those Fun Meals with my mom were pretty close. Irreplaceable memories. When I was about eight, my mom and I had a chance to go to the local regional hospital, and she promised me a trip to Burger Chef. We got there, and the only restaurant in the region which had something special specifically for children was just...gone...erased forever and replaced by the horror that is Arby's. I grew up with routine violence, economic privation, bullying and unrelenting harassment from children whose only joy in life was bringing misery to others. Just a simple Burger Chef Fun Meal once in a while made life suck a whole lot less....until Arby's came along out of nowhere and just shut it all down.
Wow memories my Father was a Manager of two different Burger chef restaurants in Connecticut in the 70s, One in the Norwalk Westport area and one in North Haven. They had Willy Wonka candy and a precursor to McDonald's big Mac called the big chef in a sandwich called the super Chef which was akin to Burger King whopper
We didn't have Burger Chef around Boston when I was a kid, but they had them in Rhode Island. I remember seeing the commercials on the Providence channels.
Hard to believe that the first chain to have a charbroiled burger, a "Big" version, the first quarter-pounder, a "happy" meal, and a "fixin'" bar lost out to all the other companies who claimed to invent those same things.
I miss Burger Chef. It was my favorite fast food chain when I was a kid. Loved the Top Chef--a cheese burger that had bacon, which to me was a new concept at the time.
There's one commercial I remember seeing in Colorado around 1973, that was advertising their fun meals. The tag line went "That's what you get at Burger Chef, that's what you get today." I'd love to see those commercials again! I have not seen any of these online. :(
We had a Burger Chef in Escanaba,Michigan.(My Hometown,now living in Bradenton,Florida).The one in Bradenton later became Ya Ya's,Schlotsky's Deli,& finally Smoothie King.Escanaba's is now Hardee's,still around now.
+Kurt Kauffman That's funny... I came from a little south of Indy and had one in my hometown, and now live in St. Pete. Remember the Burger Chef and Jeff yo-yos and the glow-in-the-dark Frisbees they used to give away?
That's weird. That one ad said "Detroit Metropolitan Area Only" as a disclaimer at the bottom. I live in Southeastern Michigan and I don't recall ever seeing a Burger Chef. I was born in 1979, so maybe they all closed by the time I would have remembered seeing them.
People have already noted Jan Brady and James Cromwell. Surprised to see no comments about PJ Soles (at least I think it's her) at 8:34 czcams.com/video/iSfMPo6KWps/video.html
I miss Burger Chef. It's just not the same without them around anymore. I like rgeir hamburger. Fries and cola. Super Chef and apple turnover. My mom and my Aunt Helen God Rest Her Soul. Liked their cheeseburger. Fries and coffee , salad,and apple turnover. I had everything they had for kids. I wish they would bring back Burger Chef.
The one I remember is "No where else but Burger Chef" Jingle back in the early 80's as a kid....good memories.Funny thing is,later on,in my teens,I worked for Hardee's,who bought them out....
@@kurtkauffman4326 .........I was a unit manager during the conversion(s) at the Taylor, MI location. Funny thing was that when the 'sale made the Restaurant News (paper) -that I subscribed to- hit my mail (USPS) delivery I called our Regional Office in Troy, MI. They hadn't heard about it from Corp.Hdqt. (located in the Pyramids of Indy) and thoughts I was 'crazy'......SURPRISE.
this message coming from the hometown of Burger Chef,(INDY).Thank you for putting these spots together.Awesome.CHECK OUT THE HISTORY OF THE SPEEDWAY BURGER CHEF.
I remember a television ad where 2 friends buy the bacon burger, and one of them turns to a little boy in the next booth and asks him, “a third is bigger than a quarter, right?” Or something like that. It’s the first time I can remember seeing a burger with bacon on it. Once my Cub Scout den stopped at a Burger Chef for lunch after a camporee. I had the Big Shef, and the biggest kid in the den had the Super Shef. I remember thinking he was some kind of a stud for eating a burger that big.
The Burger Chef character was voiced by Paul Winchell, who also voiced Tigger on Winnie-the-Pooh, Fleegle on The Banana Splits Adventure Hour, and Dick Dastardly
This is not a complete collection. I shot 4 commercials in the late 70's for Burger Chef. The Ad Agency was Ogilvy and Mather. Wish I could find them... I would love to see them again. I still have the audio cassette from our audio recording session.
+qtpd1 I never said it was a complete collection of EVERY Burger Chef Commercial ever filmed. The description clearly states that it is a complete collection of all of the Burger Chef Commercials that are currently floating around video sites like CZcams.
what the hell happened to Burger Chef? I lived in Tempernce Michigan and we would go to the one on Alexis Rd in Toledo and we went there one day and it was closed!!
We lost ours in Grand Rapids in the mid '70's. If they'd been open in '77, doing the Star Wars crossover, I'd have been trying to talk my parents into eating there every day until I got all the toys and posters!
+AndyK304 if you want burger chef back then go to my burger chef page with the old sign that has it tung out like licking and I'm trying to post something soon
Eve Plumb from "The Brady Bunch" is an employee in one commercial and James Cromwell (Babe, Star Trek: First Contact) is in the very next ad (he's wearing a tan sweatshirt and sitting next to a kid while eating a burger)
I remember when I was five my mom took me to Burger Chef, and I ordered a BigMac. It looks like Jan Brady worked there. Wonder if Eve Plumb did that commercial before, or after, The Brady Bunch. Wish I still had the King Kong glass, and or, The Empire Strikes Back poster. They’re probably collector’s items.
It is a shame Burger Chef isn't still around... But Eve Plum (Jan Brady) in the one commercial just reminds me that there is something strange about seeing famous people in commercials. lol I just hate the one fact that they had a deal for products for the first two *Star Wars* films.. and they still went out of business.
Burger Chef was right across from the Coronado Shopping Center in Albuquerque, when my dad had us kids and my mom was working across the street in the Sears Cafeteria, he would take us to Burger Chef, I remember having the window clings.
Yes, Eve Plumb (Jan Brady), Denise Nickerson (Violet in Willy Wonka and Amy Jennings in Dark Shadows) and James Cromwell all appear in these commercials. I didn't state it because it thought it was pretty obvious.
I remember those window stickers. They were very popular. The kids next door to me seem to be getting a lot of them, but when I went they were "all out". Pissed me off. My neighbors were getting them, but I couldn't. I was finally able to get some though. It was the tomato and the apple turnover ones if I remember correctly.
How sad that many a burger place was lost. Not just Burger Chef but Henry's, Yankee Doodle Dandy & even A&W have been lost. BTW: doesn't anyone find the Burger Chef ad with the dancing burgers a tad...weird?
Yankee doodle dandys my favorite as a kid,we had one in waukegan ill. Around the corner from my house. They had good chicken too. I haven't heard any one bring that name up in years! Thanks for jogging my memory,those were some of the best times of my life!
Really miss Burger Chef. Grew up in Indianapolis IN and it was my first job as a teenager. Started as a cashier and eventually became the burger guy. Fire broiled burgers and the famous Big Chef.
Wow! Was this a memory jogger! Burger Chef was my favorite fast food place, and I saw plenty of the little Burger Chef bird houses in my area. It's really too bad the chain disappeared into Hardee's, which I never much cared for.
It disappeared because it never went national. The Quadruple Homicide at the Speedway store occurring the same night Star Wars Holiday Special aired AND tragically the Night before the Jonestown massacre pretty much destroyed Burger Chef in one fell swoop.
1968 my first job at 15. Worked there during the intro of the big chef and the ham and cheese. Remember peeling 50 lb bags of potatoes for slicing fries. Flame broiled burgers were the best of the day. Thanks for the memories.
@joyhatcher267 I miss Burger Chef. I hope they bring it back. I miss their hamburger, cries, cola, chocolate shake, salad, superchef, Apple turnover.
The little boy crying at 2:12 is me. Indianapolis, IN USA. 1972
cute
how is it possible to cry while eating a delicious Burger Chef french fry?
Wow u were cute I can't believe it was u
rddymk wow you are old
rddymk I always cried at Burger Chef because I didn’t always get my way :/
Burger Chef was my absolute favorite place to eat when I was a kid. I wish they were still around.
Life would be much better if Burger Chef were still around.
@@texasray7301 and not those modern "whopper whopper"
Oh man, I miss Burger Chef. I was born in 1965, and BC was a treat. These commercials take me back. Our family preferred Burger Chef over Mc Donald's back in the day. Thanks for the memories.
Mine, too. The nearest Burger Chef was actually next door to a McDonalds in the early 70s. We never went to McDonalds once. It seemed like Burger Chef innovated everything that McDonalds eventually stole.
"What if there was a place you could go where there was no TV, and you could break bread, and whoever you were sitting with was family..."
From the brilliant mind of Peggy Olson
Yeah and ur point I know ur high
Hippie fag !
@@maxheadrum6751 shut your chicken nuggie eating ass up
“and you can easily become a Scientologist at the salad bar.”
I was born in 1963 and for the life of me, I cant remember any of these commercials. I then realized back then we used to use commercial breaks to go to the bathroom, go to the kitchen and to see whats on other channels at that time :D I do remember my mom taking me and my 2 brothers to Burger Chef in the summer all the time after we finishwd swimming at the public pool. Loved their burgers.
Yes that's true lol but it is iconi watching ng her these I forgot some to but it just brings back the memorieß
We had a public pool to I was from Greenfield may I ask where you were from
Commercials suck wind nowadays These were great but what do we have today? GEICO,My pillow Senior Life,Plexiderm,drug and lawyer and etc,etc Using the bathroom is a big step up
I too was born in 1963, and I remember Burger Chef.
I worked there in 1969, it had a metal like belt that you put the meat patties on, at one end. on the receiving end was a perfect charbroiled patty.A bag of burgers where tasty and cheap.I saw a blue van role up ( smoke coming out of doors, windows) Both rear doors open , and about 12 hippies tumbled out on the pavement. I saw a many weird things working the night shift , but that was the funniest.
It's Paul Winchell as Burger Chef and Lionel Wilson as Jeff. The late 1970s-early 1980s Burger Chef insignia is the smiling bun wearing a
chef's hat. RIP,1954-86.
I think Paul Winchell also voiced the characters in the animated Jack In The Box ads from the 1970's too.
*It still makes me furious that the idiots at General Foods would change the best and most recognized logo in the industry back then to some stupid text signage.*
The murders in Indy didn't help.
@@jerryhayes2351 They occurred IRONICALLY and tragically the night before the Jonestown Massacre.
Like if you want Burger Chef to come back!
even though I didn't try it but I wish people could try bring it back
I heard in another video that there may still be a Burger Chef operating someplace in Michigan. Possibly Benton Harbor?
NJP Vlogs -N- Stuff I’m in Michigan. Burger Chef is history unfortunately :( I grew up there..Star Wars fun meals, King Kong glasses, the mariner and even the chicken sandwich with bacon were all a part of my childhood.
NJP Vlogs -N- Stuff I think that's a different burger chef but you need proof so we need to save burger chef
Jason C. Ok X(
Blows my mind. When I was a little kid, I had dozens of those king kong glasses. I had many of those star wars posters. Really brings you back in time.
I still have the posters. They're in a protect, sealed plastic tube, with screw-on caps.
We had those King Kong glasses, too.
Their burgers tasted much better than those today. They had a patented broiling system that I think Burger King still uses, but the patties were thinner so the flavor was all the way through. We never went to a McDonalds if there was a Burger Chef close by.
John Doe U should have a PhD in burger chef
My family too.
My Favorites at BURGER CHEF was Big CHEF w/cheese, Double Cheeseburger The Fish SANDWICH With cheese was called I think it Skippers Treat or Quarter DECK. The Apple pie & the large Vanilla Shake
Willie BOWEN What city & what Years was this? Sounds like I missed a good thing
DETROIT MICHIGAN, Indianapolis, Indiana Chicago, Illinois, HAYWARD, SAN LEANDRO, VENTURA ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA.
I worked at burger Chef in the summer of 1964. 90 cents an hour. Nice size burger for 15 cents. Add a thick slice of cheddar an extra 3 cents. I made French fries every day out of Idaho potatos. Would wash, cut, wash them again, and blanch them for a couple minutes in clean oil. Into the freezer, ready to sell for the next day. 15 cents for a large bag of fries. I remember the Coke concentrate came in 1 gallon glass bottles. Can't recall what a coke was, probably a dime for a small one. No air conditioning in the place . I worked the grill and had two screen doors and two box fans on the floor , blowing hot outside air on me. Hot job, that grill. The owner was a fanatic about using clean oil in the deep fryer and kept the place spotless. Thanks for bringing these memories back!
Ha! I graduated High School in Austin, Texas, 1963. The Burger Chef commercial lyrics, set to a catchy tune, were, "...For a Nickel and a Dime you get: French Fried Potatoes, or a Big Thick Shake, or the Biggest Juiciest Hamburger yet!" Oh yeah! For less than a dollar, you could get both you and your date a hamburger/fries and a milk shake each!! :) That was apparently before they started the fancier large hamburgers... but they were very tasty!
They had a good mushroom Swiss burger at the end.
Made some huge lettuce burgers at the "Works Bar".
Local BC became an "Arthur Treachers", then a sub and pizza joint.
Currently sits vacant...
Points for the Arthur Treacher's mention 🤘🏻🇺🇸😷
Couldn't wait until my parents got their pay check on Fridays so we could go to Burger Chef everyother Friday so I could get my fun meal.
Burger chef is closed
Among other first already mentioned, Burger Chef was the first to have a breakfast menu with egg muffins, sausage and jelly dough nuts. (loved those dough nuts) As a teen I worked there the very first Saturday breakfast was introduced. The manager actually said something like "I hope I didn't schedule too many people to work. Who goes to a burger place for breakfast?" OMG, it was it's own version of a zombie apocalypse with the mob of people who came. (many of them morning zombie cranky)
Mmmmmmm........donuts.
I sure miss Burger Chef and Gino's they were the Best fast food ever! No fast food today can compare!! Thanks for these wonderful memories!
Kinseydsp Why?
I ate at Burger Chef in the early 70's in Providence RI, they had the first fixins bar next to the counter, you take your plain Burger to the bar and put on your mustard, ketchup, pickles, lettuce, tomato. I loved it.
brad lafferty damn you’re old...
I vaguely remember that. I do remember the salad bar in the early 80's.
I remember Wendy's having the salad bar. They had that untill the late 1990's. Buger Chef and Wendy's were the only two fast food restaurant with a salad bar. I dont remember these Burger Chef being in Pittsburgh Pa much past 1984. I remember one that closed and it became a Chinese take out .
@@Shortlady82 it happens
I remember the Roy Rogers restaurant on a Massachusetts interstate which had a fixins bar. I used to load up on the tomato slices. I think that was before the sneez-gard was in common usage.
2 all beef patties,special sauce, lettuce,cheese, pickles,onion on a sesame bun..... Brings back memories of Burger Chef and Jeff. Thanks for posting.
redbird28able That's the big mac.
Going to Burger Chef and getting their Fun Meal was always such a treat for me. I loved the Fun Meal box (the best ever), the special toy and my all time favorite "swirl" chocolate cookie with chocolate filling that came with every Fun Meal.
Boy do these commercial bring good memories when I was a kid growing in the late 60's and 70's in Michigan. We had Burger Chef few miles away from us. Always got really excited about going. Thanks for posting.
ToddB987 where at in Michigan? Same here!
We did too in Niles, Michigan! Loved going there. I always wanted to go there over McDonald's!
I was a Manager at several units. First was Woodhaven on West Rd, then Taylor on Van Born, followed by Wayne Rd. (and Sims) and Cherry Hill & Wayne Rd -in front of the K-mart, Melvindale on Outer Drive. Also in Farmington, then back to Taylor for the conversion.....assisted in opening the location in Novi, by Twelve Oaks Mall and the Van Born-Telegraph Rd. (Taylor) units.
I remember them having really good strawberry milkshakes.
Watching old commercials like this makes me kind of sad. A moment in history, left behind.
I remember growing up in Indiana. The one Burger Chef in Indianapolis was robbed. The robbers then forced the four closing employees, all teenagers into a car. All four were found shot to death a couple a days later. The murders went unsolved, even to this day, I think that didn’t help the situation since Burger Chef’s sales were already suffering at that point.
tbh the werewolf commercial freaked me out a little because of the real life incident you mention
GingerGilligan My parents never told about it. For some reason my 2nd grade teacher brought it up, I had trouble sleeping for a couple of nights.
Yup. It was the Indianapolis suburb of Speedway. It remains unsolved because the incompetent Police didn’t check for evidence like fingerprints or ballistics. They foolishly accused the 4 victims of stealing money from the BC and leaving to go party. The irony of this is that it occurred Friday Night November 17,1978, the SAME night the Star Wars Holiday Special aired remember, they had a tie in with Star Wars, even more tragic, is that Jonestown occurred the following day.
Burger Chef started having trouble by 1975, mainly because they weren’t consolidating and wanted to remain regional. They wanted quote to become “The Midwestern Whataburger”. Many Franchisees had approached them but BC didn’t want to franchise out and Parent Company General Foods thought it would be wiser to Just wait until 1979 to look at franchising and expansion to the Gulf Coast.
Ultimately, on November 16,1982, General Foods sold the struggling chain to Imasco, Parent Company of Hardee’s who converted nearly all of its existing stores into Hardee’s. The Final Indiana based ones didn’t get converted into Hardee’s until December 1995.
I recall hearing about those murders. Being I worked at a Burger Chef in 64, it really bothered me. I worked at one just outside Chicago and there were no robberies back then that I recall. My folks left the front and back doors open, all night during the hot summer, with only the screen doors locked. We had no air conditioning, just a window fan. Now, that area has some real problems. Times are worse. Murders are every day. I won't eat at McDonald's or Burger King. God only knows what you're eating. @@plawson8577
*sigh* its a shame because Burger Chef was amazing!!! The food was really good and the prizes were awesome!!! Now its all garbage from the likes of McDonalds or Burger King, they are nothing compared to places like Burger Chef and others. This was a really iconic slice of Americana.
Whataburger is the best
@AJtheory Burger King has let me down time and time again. It was decent in the early 90s but lately, its dissapointing..
@TrashPanda Raccoon so the next generation could do it too
Nothing today is better than back in these days
I...agree! Now, you have McDonald's pushing the Travis Scott & BTS meals; Who ARE these people?!?
Never had it, only heard of it because I read of an unsolved quadruple murder of 4 employees in Speedway Indiana in 1978. The Burger Chef Murders.
Fah Que Quentin taratino should make a movie about the burger chef killings.
Good idea and maybe it help save burger chef
Same
Burger Chef was always a great place for families in our hometown. Unfortunately its demise was McDonald's and Wendy's taking over their turf, along with Sonic, Checkers, Hardees, and Burger King...Competition was always a problem. Loved you always BC!
I used to get the Mariner at Burger Chef.
I also used have a couple of those Star Wars posters. Still got the King Kong glass with the World Trade Center.
I remember getting those fun meals too.
Must bring back memories
3:38 That was Paul Winchell, the voice of Tigger, Gargamel and so much more.
Wow! I had some of those King Kong glasses. I forgot they were from Burger Chef.
I didn’t realize they had the licensing for Star Wars. That was huge. They were riding high at one time.
In a cruel twist of complete irony, the same night that the Star Wars Holiday Special aired 11/17/1978, 4 Burger Chef employees were abducted,robbed, and brutally murdered from a Speedway/Indianapolis store. In another SAD double whammy, the Jonestown Massacre occurred the following day. By the time the bodies of the 4 BC employees had been found, Jonestown was grabbing International headlines. Burger Chef NEVER recovered from this PR nightmare.
Early 1970s,. Went to burger chef near Flint Michigan often! They had very good burgers, and you could top them with what you wanted off the salad bar!
Marcia... Marcia...Marcia....
Oh! Thanks for doing this. I am shedding a small tear about how Arby's took away the end of my childhood by buying out and destroying the wonder that was Burger Chef. I am a bit sad to see that the commercials for the paper Star Wars string models are not here, though.
***** While the last time I checked, nationally, the closings were blamed on Hardees buying out the chain, when I was a kid in Michigan, there was no Hardees in my region. The Michigan Burger Chef restaurants were all sold off to Arby's and replaced with fast-food restaurants which were not the slightest bit appealing to kids.
***** The entire chain bit the dust by the early 1980s, but they were all bought out and converted to Arby's in Michigan around 1979. Takin my kids out for a McDonald's Happy Meal just does not cut it. I want them to experience the joy and wonder of the ORIGINAL, the Burger Chef Fun Meal, something of which I was deprived early on in life by Arby's.
Burger Chef was the ONLY restuarant in my region which catered specifically to children while I was growing up. It was over thirty miles from my home to the nearest Burger Chef, so I only got to eat there a couple of times per year. It was not quite as rare as Christmas, but those Fun Meals with my mom were pretty close. Irreplaceable memories. When I was about eight, my mom and I had a chance to go to the local regional hospital, and she promised me a trip to Burger Chef. We got there, and the only restaurant in the region which had something special specifically for children was just...gone...erased forever and replaced by the horror that is Arby's. I grew up with routine violence, economic privation, bullying and unrelenting harassment from children whose only joy in life was bringing misery to others. Just a simple Burger Chef Fun Meal once in a while made life suck a whole lot less....until Arby's came along out of nowhere and just shut it all down.
Ned Ryerson (Stephen Tobolowsky) at 9:36
Wow memories my Father was a Manager of two different Burger chef restaurants in Connecticut in the 70s, One in the Norwalk Westport area and one in North Haven. They had Willy Wonka candy and a precursor to McDonald's big Mac called the big chef in a sandwich called the super Chef which was akin to Burger King whopper
When did his locations close?
@@Weisenberg952 1980-1981 is when nearly all BCs closed down.
Voiceovers you heard in these ads-George Coe, John Bartholomew Tucker,
Ernie Anderson and Hal Douglas.
There was always more to like at Burger Chef.
+Joe Bunting Indeed there Joe!
We didn't have Burger Chef around Boston when I was a kid, but they had them in Rhode Island. I remember seeing the commercials on the Providence channels.
There used to be one in Taunton on Rt 44 just as you came off Rt 24.
rockhopper10r No different from here in Toledo and it's seeing Hardee's commercials on Detroit TV while no longer having those restaurants in town.
Dimitri Borozny Thanks for the info.
Love Burger Chef. I think of it all the time. Miss it so bad.
Great vid...didnt know about those burgers never heard them here in europe
Hard to believe that the first chain to have a charbroiled burger, a "Big" version, the first quarter-pounder, a "happy" meal, and a "fixin'" bar lost out to all the other companies who claimed to invent those same things.
I miss Burger Chef. It was my favorite fast food chain when I was a kid. Loved the Top Chef--a cheese burger that had bacon, which to me was a new concept at the time.
We all do miss Burger Chef.
4:10 I collected all the monster records the gave away their as a kid
Got all of the Star Wars posters on my wall. I had a low pipe too. Burger King eventually turned into Hardees east coast and Carls Jr on the west.
At the 8:33 mark, that's gotta be P.J. Soles (Lynda "See anything you like?") from Halloween.
Definitely her.
Totally.
I remember one of these that was in Owensboro KY back in the 70's
Maureen McCormick (Marcia) did a Burger King spot post Brady Bunch.
Burger Chef was right by my Grandma's house in El Paso tx.on Montana and Copia st. way back in 1974. I would go after school plenty of times.
My sister and I had many of the Star Wars posters from Burger Chef as kids.
There's one commercial I remember seeing in Colorado around 1973, that was advertising their fun meals. The tag line went "That's what you get at Burger Chef, that's what you get today." I'd love to see those commercials again! I have not seen any of these online. :(
We had a Burger Chef in Escanaba,Michigan.(My Hometown,now living in Bradenton,Florida).The one in Bradenton later became Ya Ya's,Schlotsky's Deli,& finally Smoothie King.Escanaba's is now Hardee's,still around now.
+Kurt Kauffman That's funny... I came from a little south of Indy and had one in my hometown, and now live in St. Pete. Remember the Burger Chef and Jeff yo-yos and the glow-in-the-dark Frisbees they used to give away?
+PaintHerWhite Yes indeed there!,they did.
Man I miss these burgers and fun meals. I grew up with them and nothing has really compared to them.
That's weird. That one ad said "Detroit Metropolitan Area Only" as a disclaimer at the bottom. I live in Southeastern Michigan and I don't recall ever seeing a Burger Chef. I was born in 1979, so maybe they all closed by the time I would have remembered seeing them.
There were quite a few. We used to hit the Royal Oak one when I was a kid.
www.angelfire.com/mi4/forgottenmi/former/burgerchef.html
Thanks for sharing these commercials. Burger Chef was a found part of my childhood. Hardees and Carl Jr. are poor substitutes to Burger Chef.
Hardee’s was JUST as a good as Burger Chef. It’s Carl Jrs that’s terrible.
look at how big the burger is now they're half of that size, aaah the good old days!
Half the size. Twice the price:)
@@chryslerelectronicleanburn1676 Half the size of the bun.
Thanks for that great post, you're incredibugable!
Loved their burgers. Got a Star Wars poster in 1977 there.
When you ordered fries, the server would announce your order to the kitchen as "golden browns"---I loved that!
Nice collection very nostalgic. I made a video on the burger chef history through the years.
Back to good memories as a child!
LaToya Farrell Me as well, I remember getting the Star Wars movie posters back in the day... not to mention the great food.
CELTIC WARRIOR The best times right?!!
LaToya Farrell 👍👍👍💯
The Fish Sandwich on the Menu is known as "Skipper's Treat".
...or the "Joe Simmonds" burger...
Who came here after watching mad men?
Everybody
we never had burger chef, but we went to one in coatsville, PA. it was fun reminded me of carrolls or old hardies. carrolls rocked in 1978!!
I hope that Burger chef comes back in Fort Wayne,Indiana again.
We had one here in New Castle, PA circa 1976. Food was the bomb!
TV voiceover legend William B. Williams from approximately 1969,reminding you that Burger Chef goes out in pleasing your
family.
6:38 Violet Beauregard (Denise Nickerson) from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)
People have already noted Jan Brady and James Cromwell. Surprised to see no comments about PJ Soles (at least I think it's her) at 8:34 czcams.com/video/iSfMPo6KWps/video.html
yep, that's PJ Soles
My father wrote many of the burger chef commercials; he created Burger Chef & Jeff; he invented the Fun Meal that led to McDonald Happy Meal...
I miss Burger Chef. It's just not the same without them around anymore. I like rgeir hamburger. Fries and cola. Super Chef and apple turnover. My mom and my Aunt Helen God Rest Her Soul. Liked their cheeseburger. Fries and coffee , salad,and apple turnover. I had everything they had for kids. I wish they would bring back Burger Chef.
remember when you chose a burger place by the free toys given out.
Cerl84 Just like cereal ;)
I loved Burger Chef and their shoestring fries were so good!! Thanks for putting this up!
very strange on Eve Plumb, that had to be late or post Brady Bunch, you just don't see an established actor dressing up as a fast food counter girl
She was typecast!-- the poor girl was glad to get the work!🍔
Eve was still playing Jan on the Brady Bunch when she did this; Maureen McCormack did a "Burger King" spot when she was still playing Marcia, also.
@@cardtrix1970 Bradybunch went off the air in '74
@@thomaskemer8109 Remember the Brady Bunch Variety Hour? Eve should be counting her blessings that she decided to do the BC commercial instead.
7:33 Eve Plumb or better known as Jan from the brady bunch
+The One Above All Yes Indeed there!,May be her second job.First it was Haskell's Ice Cream Parlor.
The one I remember is "No where else but Burger Chef" Jingle back in the early 80's as a kid....good memories.Funny thing is,later on,in my teens,I worked for Hardee's,who bought them out....
+Foolishpleazure You are right!,Hardee's purchased Burger Chef since Mid June of 1983.
@@kurtkauffman4326 .........I was a unit manager during the conversion(s) at the Taylor, MI location. Funny thing was that when the 'sale made the Restaurant News (paper) -that I subscribed to- hit my mail (USPS) delivery I called our Regional Office in Troy, MI. They hadn't heard about it from Corp.Hdqt. (located in the Pyramids of Indy) and thoughts I was 'crazy'......SURPRISE.
this message coming from the hometown of Burger Chef,(INDY).Thank you for putting these spots together.Awesome.CHECK OUT THE HISTORY OF THE SPEEDWAY BURGER CHEF.
The actress at 8:14 is Patsy Garrett, who played Mary the housekeeper in the first Benji movie.
I remember a television ad where 2 friends buy the bacon burger, and one of them turns to a little boy in the next booth and asks him, “a third is bigger than a quarter, right?” Or something like that. It’s the first time I can remember seeing a burger with bacon on it. Once my Cub Scout den stopped at a Burger Chef for lunch after a camporee. I had the Big Shef, and the biggest kid in the den had the Super Shef. I remember thinking he was some kind of a stud for eating a burger that big.
fond memories of the Burger Chef in Altoona, PA on 7th ave during the 70s
I hear Casey Kasem's voice on the last ad
Kind of ironic since he was a vegetarian.
We used to love the kid's fun meal trays at Burger Chef.
The commercial that starts at 8:06, the father looks like James Cromwell.
I think you are right!
Good call!
Leo Bardonaro!
Yes that's him. He was in a lot of TV shows back then. He probably did that job between acting roles.
Good eye!!!!!
The Burger Chef character was voiced by Paul Winchell, who also voiced Tigger on Winnie-the-Pooh, Fleegle on The Banana Splits Adventure Hour, and Dick Dastardly
And Gargamel in "The Smurfs" and Zummi Gummi in "Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears.
@@armorybrunotjr.3204 That is correct
Hosted a Kids Game Show "Runaround".Aired on NBC Saturday Morning in the 1972-73 season.
Thank you Don Drapper!
This is not a complete collection. I shot 4 commercials in the late 70's for Burger Chef. The Ad Agency was Ogilvy and Mather. Wish I could find them... I would love to see them again. I still have the audio cassette from our audio recording session.
+qtpd1 I never said it was a complete collection of EVERY Burger Chef Commercial ever filmed. The description clearly states that it is a complete collection of all of the Burger Chef Commercials that are currently floating around video sites like CZcams.
what the hell happened to Burger Chef? I lived in Tempernce Michigan and we would go to the one on Alexis Rd in Toledo and we went there one day and it was closed!!
We lost ours in Grand Rapids in the mid '70's. If they'd been open in '77, doing the Star Wars crossover, I'd have been trying to talk my parents into eating there every day until I got all the toys and posters!
+AndyK304 if you want burger chef back then go to my burger chef page with the old sign that has it tung out like licking and I'm trying to post something soon
So it's the incomplete "complete" collection... OK then, lol.
How I remember best Burger Chef and Jeff. Along with incrediburgable.
Eve Plumb from "The Brady Bunch" is an employee in one commercial and James Cromwell (Babe, Star Trek: First Contact) is in the very next ad (he's wearing a tan sweatshirt and sitting next to a kid while eating a burger)
that "internet lurker" jingle is pure genius! 11:40
BING!@9:58 it's Ned Ryerson of Groundhog Day.
Needlenose Ned! Ned the head! Come on buddy
I remember when I was five my mom took me to Burger Chef, and I ordered a BigMac. It looks like Jan Brady worked there. Wonder if Eve Plumb did that commercial before, or after, The Brady Bunch. Wish I still had the King Kong glass, and or, The Empire Strikes Back poster. They’re probably collector’s items.
It is a shame Burger Chef isn't still around... But Eve Plum (Jan Brady) in the one commercial just reminds me that there is something strange about seeing famous people in commercials. lol
I just hate the one fact that they had a deal for products for the first two *Star Wars* films.. and they still went out of business.
The Big Chef was one of the best burgers out there.
Burger Chef was right across from the Coronado Shopping Center in Albuquerque, when my dad had us kids and my mom was working across the street in the Sears Cafeteria, he would take us to Burger Chef, I remember having the window clings.
Yes, Eve Plumb (Jan Brady), Denise Nickerson (Violet in Willy Wonka and Amy Jennings in Dark Shadows) and James Cromwell all appear in these commercials. I didn't state it because it thought it was pretty obvious.
8:03 - The dad is James Cromwell...
I had every one of those King King glasses and Star Wars posters. Lol
I remember those window stickers. They were very popular. The kids next door to me seem to be getting a lot of them, but when I went they were "all out". Pissed me off. My neighbors were getting them, but I couldn't. I was finally able to get some though. It was the tomato and the apple turnover ones if I remember correctly.
How sad that many a burger place was lost. Not just Burger Chef but Henry's, Yankee Doodle Dandy & even A&W have been lost. BTW: doesn't anyone find the Burger Chef ad with the dancing burgers a tad...weird?
Yankee doodle dandys my favorite as a kid,we had one in waukegan ill. Around the corner from my house. They had good chicken too. I haven't heard any one bring that name up in years! Thanks for jogging my memory,those were some of the best times of my life!
850 A and W's in Canada, but no more drive in's, just drive through's oh not the same.
Really miss Burger Chef. Grew up in Indianapolis IN and it was my first job as a teenager. Started as a cashier and eventually became the burger guy. Fire broiled burgers and the famous Big Chef.
I just checking out after I watched about the burger chef murders
Wow! Was this a memory jogger! Burger Chef was my favorite fast food place, and I saw plenty of the little Burger Chef bird houses in my area. It's really too bad the chain disappeared into Hardee's, which I never much cared for.
It disappeared because it never went national. The Quadruple Homicide at the Speedway store occurring the same night Star Wars Holiday Special aired AND tragically the Night before the Jonestown massacre pretty much destroyed Burger Chef in one fell swoop.
It was Dave Madden (Reuben Kincade,later Earl Hicks) speaking for the new Sandwich on the Menu called,Top Shef.