The Burger Chef Reliquary

Love of Surfing Lands Hayes in Hall

Article by Hillard Grossman

  Florida Today, January 27, 2006, Page 1D

Mary Ann Hayes was recently inducted into the East Coast Surfing Hall of Fame.  She started surfing in the 1960s.  She won numerous awards and titles, including the U.S. Surfing Championship in 1978.  But her greatest achievement, by far, was gaining exclusive use of her mom's 1963 Chevy Biscayne to use as a beach buggy.  How?  She covered it (and her surfboard!) with colorful stickers from Burger Chef.  "My mom wouldn't drive it anymore with all those stickers on it," she said.

You can read the full text of this story in the Florida Today archive.

A Few Things Have Changed at Claude's Barbershop

Column by Vince Staten

Kingsport Times-News, January 20, 2006, Page 1B

Mr. Staten's Wednesday column conjured memories from a reader, who writes in, recalling the days his T-ball coach would drive the team to Burger Chef!  The 6 year-olds would ride in the back of the coach's pickup to the Burger Chef on  Lynn Garden Drive in Kingsport, Tennesseee.  There the coach would order burgers and the kids would dine on the tailgate.

You can read Vince Staten's full column in the Kingsport Times-News archive.

Collector has a thing for Burger Chef

Article by Kevin Riordan

Courier-Post, October 17, 2005, Page 1-B

This article spotlights John Flack and his Burger Chef collection.  John's site, JSF's Burger Chef Page, inspired the creation of The Reliquary. Owning a collection is one thing, but posting it on the web to share with others is even more fulfilling.  It's wonderful to see a fellow collector receive such recognition.

You can read the full text of this article here in the Courier-Post's archives.

JETRO: Japanese Market Report

JETRO Japanese Market Report, No. 67, March 2003, Food Services Industry

This report contains case-studies of successful (and unsuccessful) hamburger ventures in Japan.  The report discusses Burger Chef's attempt to break into the Japanese market in June 1971.  Burger Chef (USA), General Foods and Fujiya teamed up and opened a Burger Chef in Amagasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture.  But all did not go well....

Copies of this report are available on the JETRO website.

The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis

Edited by David J. Bodenhamer and Robert G. Barrows

ISBN 0-253-31222-1

This 1,616 page tome includes two brief entries regarding the history of Burger Chef.  The first, entitled Burger Chef, was contributed by Connie J. Zeigler.  The second, Burger Chef Murders, was contributed by Vickie J. West.

Track down a copy for yourself at abebooks.com and support independent booksellers.

Speedway Burger Chef Murders: Special Report

Burger Chef Cold Case Gets New Emphasis
Original air date: November 3, 2003
WISH-TV, Indianapolis, Indiana

In November 1978, four employees were abducted from the Speedway Burger Chef at closing time.  They'd been robbed of less than $600.  They were missing for a day and a half....The bodies of the four were found in a wooded section of Johnson County.

This report, which aired 25 years after the crime, examines the latest developments in one of Indiana's most notorious unsolved murder cases.  The full report is available through the links below:

Burger Chef Cold Case Gets New Emphasis

Timeline of Burger Chef Murders Case

Interview with former Indiana State Police Detective Ken York About the  Burger Chef Murder Investigation

Burger Chef Murders: Victims' Profiles

Autographed Photo of Jackie Mayer

Autographed copy of Stroke Smart March/April 2002, Jackie Mayer cover

In Hamburger Heaven, Jeffrey Tennyson recounts the story of Jackie Mayer who, shortly after winning the title of Miss America in 1963, received a gold credit card good for any Burger Chef in the country.  Jackie told me that she carried the card around for over a year, but has no idea where it is today.

But Jackie's story doesn't end there.  In 1970, she suffered a massive, crippling stroke.  She couldn't walk or speak.  Rehabilitation would take many years.

In the early 1980s, she began making public appearances again and became an advocate for stroke victims.  She served as the national spokeswoman of the National Stroke Association  from 1987 to 1996.  Today, Jackie continues to speak, educating, encouraging, and sharing her faith with others. 

To learn more, visit Jackie's site here.

Lost Indianapolis

by John P. McDonald

  ISBN 0-7385-2008-X

This book contains a chapter that recounts the history of Burger Chef, its founders and its demise.  Lost Indianapolis is well researched and includes numerous black and white photographs that bring the stories to life.  Be sure to visit John McDonald's website Lost Indiana.

Track down a copy of this book for yourself at abebooks.com and support independent booksellers.

Hamburger Heaven: The Illustrated History of the Hamburger

by Jeffrey Tennyson

  ISBN 0-7868-8080-5

"Hamburger Heaven is served up with a delicious slice of irony and a side order of not too serious sociology.  Designed and written by Tennyson, the stylish result is a walking tour through American kitch." -Associated Press

If there's an authority on hamburgers, it's Jeffrey Tennyson.  He was featured in National Public Radio's Present at the Creation segment on the subject.  His book explores the furthest reaches of the hamburger universe including a couple of mentions of Burger Chef (with pictures!)

Track down a copy of this book for yourself at abebooks.com and support independent booksellers.

Citizen K: The Deeply Weird American Journey of Brett Kimberlin

by Mark Singer

  ISBN 0-679-42999-9

"In 1988, Brett Kimberlin -- an accomplished teen-age pilot and multi-ton pot smuggler serving his sentence as the notorious Speedway bomber -- was prevented by federal prison authorities from giving an Election Week press conference. Did Kimberlin, as he claimed, once sell nickle bags to Danny Quayle at a Burger Chef in Indianapolis? Singer's tenaciously reported story of this Jarndycean litigant, would-be pop star, and self-styled 'conscience of the country' draws the reader -- and the author himself -- into a hopeless and often hilarious labyrinth of semi-truths."  New Yorker  (12/16/1996)

This book recounts the most notorious drug deal that never occurred at the Burger Chef on Kessler Boulevard and Michigan Road in Indianapolis, Indiana.  The author, Mark Singer, reports the stories of Brett Kimberlin... only to admit that he was duped.  To learn more, read the critique at Columbia Journalism Review.

Track down a copy of this book for yourself at abebooks.com and support independent booksellers.