The Burger Chef Reliquary

RE: Order Ticket & Tie Pin

Hello again, RT,

I found a couple of other items I thought would be good for the Reliquary. I think these are the last two items I have, but then again I wasn't sure about these, either!

The first pic is a sheet off an order pad used by the frontline cashiers to take the customers' orders. Notice the "W" and "WO" next to the sandwich columns. This was for "With" or "Without", for the Works Bar. All the menu items of the time were listed, plus some that were probably still sold by some of the franchisees. This was from 1976, when I worked at Tyson's Corner, VA, because there's a note written on the back from somebody who worked for me there at the time.

The second is a tie pin. I don't remember when I got it, and it was only by looking for something else that I found it.

I hope these find their place in the Reliquary, as probably nobody has seen either one of these items for years.

Talk to you later,
Bill

RE: Waymarking

R.T.

You have a wonderful resource of Burger Chef information.  I wanted to let you know that I have recently created a "Remembering Burger Chef" category on Waymarking.com.  It is only a couple of days old right now, but hopefully we will begin to see locations and photos of former Burger Chef from all over.

Here's the link: http://www.waymarking.com/cat/details.aspx?f=1&guid=65766bda-9049-4276-9ee6-1fe3ed9e6d1f

Rupert2

Thanks for the info.  I'll add it to my Burger Chef Links.

R.T.

RE: Name Tags

Hello, RT,

I've known all along that I had these, and ran across them when I was looking for something else in my storage unit the other day. They are name tags from the different BC eras, and I thought they would make a great addition to the Reliquary. It's amazing the things you tend to hold onto over the years, and these brought back some great memories for me.

The first pic is an "Open Flame Cooking" patch from the late '60's. I know you already have a pic of one of these, but it's a part of my collection.

The second pic is a nametag from that same era. I think it was the first style of nametag used by BC.

The third pic shows a nametag from the beginning of the General Foods era. Note the "ball and flame" logo.

The next pic is a hostess nametag with the "lollipop" logo. No, I wasn't a hostess, but I do remember Jeanne very well!!

The last pic is my nametag from the late '70's, when I worked in Northern Indiana. It clipped over your pocket and was always falling off, so it's really amazing I still have it.

I think these will bring back some memories for others who visit the Reliquary, as they did for me.

Talk to you later,
Bill

Bill,

Thanks, these are great!

R.T.

RE: Button and Order Ticket

R.T.,

I found this order ticket I used at the cash register when I worked at Burger Chef in the 70's.  I had written the prices on it so I wouldn't have to keep turning around to see the prices.  I have also attached a picture of a button I found recently.  You've probably seen it but I just wanted to show you. God bless.

Alan Crabtree

 

RE: Hardee's Big Shef

R.T.,

I was in St Louis today where Hardee's has rolled out the Big Shef again (in addition to Indianapolis).  What I found was a bit of a surprise. The sandwich isn't the Big Shef at all.  It's the "Big Twin" with mayo instead of Big Twin sauce.  No center bun.  No Big Shef sauce.  In fact, there isn't any pickle product of any kind on it. It doesn't resemble the Big Shef, and it certainly doesn't taste like the Big Shef.  It's not a very good sandwich by any stretch of the imagination. I realize they only rolled it out to try and keep the Burger Chef trademark, but this is just stupid. Picture of Hardee's promo attached showing the "nothing in common" Big Shef St Louis is currently getting. Is this what they rolled out in Indianapolis too?

Thanks, Sam Graham

Sam,

Thanks for your observation.  Just to contrast, here's a link to a picture of the original Big Shef.

R.T.

Re: Jumbo-Sized Birdhouses

R.T.,

Any pictures of Burger Chef birdhouses standing?  We lost out last one in Paducah Ky 3 or 4 years ago.  I know of another about 80 miles away.  How about pictures of them?

Jim

Dear Jim,

I'm not aware of any in the wild.  I know there's an oversized one on display at Schroeder's in Danville, IL.  You see the regular-sized ones on EBay periodically, but it looks like they've spent more time in someone's garage than housing birds. I'm attaching a picture of the one at Schroeder's.

   

If you ever come across any photos of any others I'd be happy to post them for you.

Cheers,

R.T.

R.T.,

Great.  Thanks for the picture.  I know of one in the wild.  It is not well kept, but intact.  It is about 80 miles away.  By the way, I am from Paducah, Ky.  Home of WKYX radio.

Jim

R.T.,

This stands just north of Carbondale, Kentucky on Highway 51.

  

Jim

RE: Trademarks Challenged

Dear R.T.,

I ran across an interesting bit of "trivia" today. It appears that the trademark for Burger Chef is being challenged by River West Brands out of Chicago. They filed their claim with the US Patents Office in January of this year. This probably explains the re-release of the "Big Shef" by Hardee's in February to the present.  Here the link.

Thanks,

Heath

RE: Special Event

Dear R.T.,

Burger Chef Returns to Indy.  Well sort of.  As you know, many Indy residents still mourn the loss of the once locally-based Burger Chef.  To celebrate this legacy, Hardee's has decided to bring back the signature Burger Chef Big Shef hamburger to select Indy-area restaurants for a limited time. To honor the return of the Big Shef, one Indianapolis Hardee's will undergo a temporary facelift today during lunch, decorating the dining room with Burger Chef logos and inviting local residents to be served by employees fashioning Burger Chef crew uniforms.

Below is a press release with more details on the return of the Big Shef.  Thought you may want to let Burger Chef fans in on where they can get a taste of nostalgia.

Thanks, Kim

HARDEE’S® BRINGS BACK BURGER CHEF® BIG SHEF™ HAMBURGER FOR A LIMITED TIME IN SELECT MARKETS

ST. LOUIS, Mo. – April 23, 2007 – An old favorite is returning to Hardee’s – but only for a limited time. The Burger Chef® Big Shef™ hamburger will be added to the menu at Hardee’s restaurant locations in Indianapolis, Terre Haute, Ind., Fort Wayne, Ind., South Bend, Ind. and Dayton, Ohio beginning today.

        The Big Shef was a signature burger on the Burger Chef menu in the 1970s and 80s. It is a 1/4-pound burger featuring two charbroiled patties, American cheese, shredded lettuce and special Big Shef sauce. The Burger Chef Big Shef will replace the Big Twin™ on the Hardee’s menu in these cities and will be sold at a 2-for-$3 price point.

        “Hardee’s conducted a test in February where we brought back the Burger Chef Big Shef at one of our company-owned restaurants in Terre Haute. The response was overwhelming,” said Brad Haley, Hardee’s executive vice president of marketing.  “In certain markets like Indy and Terre Haute, the love affair with Burger Chef remains strong, and people were gobbling up the Big Shef burgers as fast as we could make them. We knew then that we needed to bring this product back on a larger scale, to offer Burger Chef fans across the Midwest their Big Shef fix.”

Hardee's Food Systems, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of CKE Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE: CKR) of Carpinteria, Calif. As of the fourth fiscal quarter ended Jan. 29, 2007, CKE Restaurants, Inc., through its subsidiaries, had a total of 3,105 franchised or company-operated restaurants in 43 states and in 13 countries, including 1,087 Carl's Jr.® restaurants, 1,906 Hardee's restaurants and 96 La Salsa Fresh Mexican Grill® restaurants.  For more information, or to find a Hardee's near you, go to www.ckr.com or www.hardees.com.

RE: Fun Village

Dear R.T.,

I had a recollection of a toy that I received from Burger Chef when I was a kid (probably around the late 70's era.)  I discovered your site on the net, and it seems to be the expert on the subject, so I thought I would ask you.  The piece as I recall was a large poster board size card- with the layout of a neighborhood on it.   The art work was very nice,  not the cheap cartoon work of many a give-aways. I assume that a person would collect different properties and install them on this board?, or somehow make additions to the neighborhood.  The years have fuzzed my perception-- do you know of anything like this?

Thanks,

Todd Martin

Dear R.T.,

I had the Fun Village Play Land.  You collected the houses off of the Fun Burger box and there was a mat you purchased with the punch out cars that were about the size of Hot Wheels.  The last house in the village was the Burger Chef.  I think this was around 1973-1974.  I remember I gave the whole village to a younger kid after I did not play with it for a while and I certainly regret it because I don’t even have any pictures of it.  Hopefully someone else who visits this site will remember it also.

Margaret Duhon

Dear Todd & Margaret,

Burger Chef distributed the Fun Village in 1975.  The mat itself included an instruction sheet and punch out vehicles, people, trees, etc.  There were 24 buildings to collect and place on it. I don't have them pictured on my site because I don't have any in my collection.  They're very rare and go for a substantial chunk of change when I have seen them.  There's a slightly unfocussed, black and white picture of the complete set in Tomart's Price Guide to Kid's Meal Collectibles (Non-McDonald's) .

--R.T.

RE: Condiment Dispenser

Dear R.T.,

Earlier I had asked you if you thought information on some Burger Chef equipment would be a good addition to the Reliquary. Well, I've jarred my memory and come up with the condiment dispenser, which was used on the backline to dispense ketchup and mustard. A drawing is attached, which I did from memory, if you'd like to use it.

Basically, this is how it worked. There were two electromagnets, one for each side of the dispenser. They each operated a cylinder, one for ketchup and one for mustard. The cylinder was compressed, sending condiment up through the tubes and onto the sandwich. When the electromagnet disengaged, more condiment was drawn into the cylinder for the next use. By raising the top of the dispenser with the heel of the bun, both ketchup and mustard were dispensed. By using the buttons on the side of the dispenser, either just ketchup or just mustard could be dispensed. The amount of condiment dispensed was adjustable, and the proper amount was two spots of ketchup the size of a quarter, and two spots of mustard the size of a dime. Isn't it amazing some of the information that sticks in your mind after almost 30 years? There's a drawing of the dispenser attached, if you'd like to use it.

Talk to you later,
Bill Ore