Читать книгу All about the Burger - Sef Gonzalez - Страница 21

▶In 1963, the Grand Rapids, Michigan, franchisees broke away as Mr. Fables. The name Mr. Fables came from the founding cousins’ surnames, Dick Faber and John Boyles. Mr. Fables closed up shop in 2000, twelve years after the founders sold the company.

▶In his autobiography, Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy’s, said that Kewpee was an inspiration to him. He frequented the location in Kalamazoo, Michigan, when he was a child.

▶After being approved for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, the downtown Lima Kewpee location never made the list. The reason? The final application had “Owner Objection” stamped on it.

▶There are three Kewpees in Lima, Ohio; one in Lansing, Michigan; and another in Racine, Wisconsin; all still open for business.

Maid-Rite

Year Founded: 1926

City Founded: Muscatine, Iowa

Founder: Fred Angell

Number of Locations at the Chain’s Peak: between 300 and 400

Slogan: “We Do It Rite!”

▶While technically not hamburgers, Maid-Rite’s loose meat sandwiches are very close cousins. They’re made up of ground beef and spices served on a hamburger roll.

▶The original Maid-Rite sandwich came with pickles, mustard, and onion.

▶The Maid-Rite Sandwich Shop in Springfield, Illinois, predates the Maid-Rite company by two years. Since 1984, this location’s building has been a part of the National Register of Historic Places. They also claim to have the first drive-thru window in the US.

▶The Maid-Rite company has over thirty restaurants located in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, and Ohio, not counting a few former franchisees.

White Tower

Founded: November 17, 1926

City Founded: Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Founders: John E. Saxe, Thomas E. Saxe

Number of Locations at the Chain’s Peak: over 230

Slogans: “Buy a Bagful” and “Take Home a Bagful”

▶White Tower restaurants patterned themselves after White Castle. The founders thoroughly investigated White Castle, going so far as to hire a former White Castle operator before opening the first White Tower restaurant. All of this came out over the course of two lawsuits, one of which was brought in 1929 in Minnesota by White Castle against White Tower. White Tower then counter-sued in a Michigan court claiming that they had arrived in Michigan first. The 1930 Minnesota court ruling found in favor of White Castle, forcing White Tower to end all use of their similar name, architecture, and slogans.

▶While White Castle did not force White Tower to change their name as per the ruling, they were required to pay a onetime licensing fee for its use to the tune of eighty-two thousand dollars.