The Burger Chef Reliquary

Schroeder's Drive-In

Located at 432 N. Gilbert Street in Danville, Illinois.  Visited September 3, 2005.

Henry Schroeder opened this restaurant as a Burger Chef in 1960.  The store operated as such until the franchise contract expired in 1992.  Today, Henry's son, Butch Schroeder, continues to run the restaurant under its new name.  Butch graciously agreed to meet with me over Labor Day weekend to reminisce and share his collection of Burger Chef memorabilia.

When I arrived, I waited while Butch personally helped his kitchen staff through a rush.  It's just that sort of personal attention that won his store highest sales volume of any Burger Chef in the nation for over a decade.  Unlike other franchisees, the Schroeder's deliberately stuck to one store.  This allowed them to concentrate on the most minute details and ensure quality service.  Butch understands that when you over-reach, you can lose the personal touch and attention necessary to run a top notch operation.  Scattered among his collection of Burger Chef mementos were a number of awards and well-deserved recognition:

 

 

 

Among Mr. Schroeder's collection are a number of photographs.  As he shared them with me he'd point out teenagers on his crew from the 70's and tell me of their current success, as lawyers and such.  He humbly tried to hide a grin of satisfaction.  Visiting with Mr. Schroeder was an absolute joy.  I greatly appreciate the time he took to meet with me.

Photo from Burger Chef newsletter Front Page, caption reads, "Hardee's Food Systems Chairman and President Jack Laughery, Burger Chef President John Martin, and Imasco Ltd. President and Chief Operating Officer L. Edmond Ricard put the ink to the parchment just to make the Hardee's/Burger Chef merger "official."

3735 Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive

 

Located at the corner of Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive and 28th Street in Indianapolis, Indiana.  Photo taken September 3, 2005.

This abandoned Burger Chef building is featured in John McDonald's book Lost Indianapolis as a surviving example of the "Cosmo II" architecture.  The book contains a conceptual drawing of what "Cosmo II" architecture looked like and describes the function of its innovation.  McDonald also notes that on this particular building, "the original orange roof tile color is showing through the black paint in spots."  Sure enough....

Most of the doors and windows of the building are boarded up.  Lucky for us, one of the windows was open revealing an exclusive peak inside....

Site of first Burger Chef

Located at 1300 West 16th Street in Indianapolis, Indiana.  Photo taken September 3, 2005.

According to John McDonald, author of Lost Indianapolis, the store opened in 1958.  The original building was demolished.  Today, a warehouse for the Graybar Electric Company stands on the site.

Site of Corporate Headquarters

Located at 1348 West 16th Street in Indianapolis, Indiana. Photo taken September 3, 2005.

The original Burger Chef corporate headquarters building stood at this site until quite recently.  The loss of the building may be regretful, but the new building, owned by Kirby Risk Supply Company, certainly improves the aesthetics of the neighborhood.  For pictures of the original building taken just prior to its demolition, visit John McDonald's site Lost Indiana.