December 4 – Burger King's Beginnings

Posted on December 4, 2015

I just found out that Burger King is as old as I am!



On this date in 1954, the first Burger King opened in Miami, Florida.

Food was a bit cheaper
back then!
It all started like this: A couple of fellows (David Edgerton and James McLamore, if you care, which you probably don't) owned franchises of a Florida-based burger chain called Insta-Burger King. Their restaurants were in Miami.

A franchise is when an individual or group is authorized to open and run a particular “brand” of restaurant (or other commercial venture) by a parent company.

Unfortunately, Insta-Burger King ran into financial difficulties. Edgerton and McLamore decided to buy the company and simplify the name to just Burger King.

They were able to operate the company at a profit and, eventually, sell it to another owner. Each time it changed hands, Burger King (often called BK) became more global.

This is the first Burger King in Russia. (above)
Now a Brazilian company owns a majority stake in BK, and Burger King has been merged with a Canadian-based doughnut chain (Tim Hortons). As of 2013, there are Burger Kings in 79 different countries, including Australia (where the restaurants are called Hungry Jack's instead of Burger King!).


So the little Florida company grew into something truly international!


Is Burger King a king among fast food restaurants?

According to an article at “Eating Rules,” McDonald's has more locations that Burger King, Wendy's, Carl's Jr., Jack in the Box, Fatburger, Sonic, and In-N-Out COMBINED!!! So it's definitely not the “king” as far as the most successful. 

Also, Burger King's signature burger, the Whopper, was wwaaaayyyyy high on the Eating Rules comparison chart as far as calories and fat goes, and its French fries were high-high in those categories, too. McDonald's actually scored as being a lot more healthy in those particular comparisons!



Of course, burgers so big they're called “whoppers” aren't the only thing BK sells.

There are some much healthier foods on offer, as this article at Popsugar explains. 

I'm thinking that Burger King MAY be king of the Halloween burger! Have you seen this black burger? (The bun is apparently colored – and flavored – with A1 Steak Sauce.)


Also on this date:
















































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