The Burger Chef Reliquary

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

Thanks, Bill.

--R.T.

Hello RT.

We thought you might like a picture of the Condiment Dispenser & the diagram included in our equipment booklet.

Enjoy!

Dale & Betty

Thanks!

--R.T.

RE: Burger Chef Locations

Hello RT,

I just love the site.  It's helped to bring back a lot of memories for me.  As you can tell by the info I posted on some stores, I worked for BC for a long time in Virginia, Maryland, and Indiana, in both corporate stores and franchised units.  I learned a lot, and saw a lot of changes during those years.  I also met a lot of good people.  I'm hoping maybe I can run across some of the people I worked with around that time.... If I remember anything else, I'll let you know.  I'll check back from time to time. -- Bill

Dear Bill,

Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge about so many stores.  Sounds like you had quite a range of experiences!  Can't wait to hear more from you.

--R.T.

RE: Crankenburger Mask

"I looked up Burger Chef recently on Wikipedia, and was surprised at how huge the franchise was.  I think I was directed to your site from a link on wiki.  I was hoping I'd find a graphic of the Fun Meal that had the Frankenstein mask on it, but alas....Keep up the good work."

--John L. Seattle, WA

Dear John,

Sorry.  If it's any consolation, you can find this guy... on EBay right now.  Hurry though, auction ends April 30, 2006.  Also, here's a link to a Fangburger mask from that same series at The Imaginary World.

--R.T.

RE: Monster Fun Records & Bird House

Hi,

I just ran across your site and enjoy it. I found some burger chef items that I would be happy to send you some pictures of for your site if you want them. I have the bird house and 4 monster fun records. I have the bird house on ebay now and will be putting the records on soon. I am not a collector but enjoy sites like yours. --Robert

Robert,

  Thanks for the offer.  I'd love to post any pictures you may have.  I saw your birdhouse on EBay, those things really are a prize for a collector.  Whoever would have guessed 20 years ago what they'd sell for today!  Thanks for visiting my site and I look forward to receiving your pictures.

--R.T.

Thanks!

--R.T.

RE: Burger Chef Chevrolet

"The Burger Chef I painted was located in Sacramento, CA where there were actually two. Sorry to say, I can't remember the address of either one....I love your BC Reliquary, it's full of wonderful goodies . . . swell place to browse."

--Ralph Goings

RE: Fun Money Coins

Hi,

I have a Burger Chef and Jeff fun money coin.  Not a chance this is worth anything, is there?

Thanks, Carl

Carl,

All of the fun money coins frequently appear on EBay.  They normally sell between $1.99 and $3.99.  You might get a couple of bucks more if you sell it at a yardsale or flea market.

--R.T.

RE: Breakfast of Champions

A postcard from Kurt Vonnegut...

"Nobody loves whimsy more than I, and your Burger Chef Reliquary is a masterpiece!  My choice of Burger Chef was random, but it got me a great letter from you!  Whoopee!" --Kurt Vonnegut

[See the question Mr. Vonnegut is responding to here.]

RE: Hornito

"I can't believe you found that reference!  I am so psyched!

Thank you for including me on your site...

We had a Burger Chef in Springfield...and I just remember the façade...it attached itself to my kiddie memory...I remember it being very cartoony which was of course so seductive to me... I know the chef mascot...but wasn’t there some little burger mascot with eyes too?

I have a new novel out as well...it's called The Underminer...it's about an evil, super successful best friend who makes you feel totally suicidal about yourself...where Hornito was about the 70s and 80s, this novel is more about the 90’s...the chaotic ride from recession to dot com boom, bust, and our bizarre new world of terrorism, overpriced coffee bars and bloated real estate value....

All the best to you!" --Mike Albo

Dear Mike,

     Thanks so much for your response.  The Burger Chef mascot you're remembering is known as The Funburger, you'll find him on a lot of the packaging from the 1970s (and hiding throughout the various categories linked to on the right.)

     Best of luck with The Underminer.  My gripe with coffee bars is the dirty looks you get from the clerk when you force them to translate your order into Italian, Esperanto or whatever that language is.  When I'm really feeling cocky I'll order a "Biggie."

Sincerely,

R.T.

RE: Turning Bones

"Thanks so much for putting my book, Turning Bones, on your web site. And what a great site it is. Deb and I took a trip down memory lane last night as we navigated the various links.....I'm glad you liked the book; you might enjoy my new novel, The Bright Forever, set in a small Indiana town in 1972. No Burger Chefs, I'm afraid, but a courthouse square with a restaurant called the Coach Light and a tavern called the Top Hat Inn.

A quick update on the Burger Chef where Deb and I met. It became a Hardees and then went through various independent owners, the last calling it The Main Street Grille. It burned down a couple of years ago, and now I jokingly tell Deb that when the place you first met is no longer there, the marriage is null and void!"  --Lee