45 years since the still unsolved Burger Chef murders

This reminds me of the Austin yogurt shop murders. All young kids and last I heard never solved.

I blame the irresponsible Burger Chef Demolition Night promotion at the ball park that evening. An enraged shock jock instigated the fracas because Burger Chef had yanked their ads over his unsubstantiated “Wendy’s spits in their chili” allegations.

It was obviously that bitch, Wendy! She hides a shank beneath those pigtails.

Ray Kroc.

FYi, I grew up nearby a Burger Chef location. Their food was on point and when they installed a works bar it was a big deal. AIl the 80s, all the Burger Chef locations I knew about turned into Hardee's.

BTW, A young Eve Plumb (aka Jan Brady) appeared in their tv commercial back in '77. (at link)

My dad called the place "Booger Chef."

Who is killing the great Burger Chefs of Speedway?

My dad was a mechanic at The Speedway and I’d go with him sometimes to look at the cars. I remember we’d pass this place and I’d get so scared. I was only 5 but I sort of understood what happened. It turned into a Hardee’s and was still there when I left that shithole state in 2005.

It was Jeff.

R5 Jan needed a job

70s kid - I forgot all about Burger Chef until references to it appeared in Mad Men. Only then did I remember how big a chain it was.

R8, happy for your successful escape from Indiana. Truly a shithole!

Hardness is the fast food choice of rapists

There were reports of an odd character skulking around the property shortly before the incident. Police released a sketch from witness descriptions in the hopes that someone would recognize this person of interest.

I loved Burger Chef back in the 80s. The works bar was the best. Sadly we didn’t have any near us and only got to go when we visited family in Ohio. So bummed when it closed but at least Wendy’s went into the old space so we could get Frostys

In 1954, Frank and Donald Thomas patented the flame broiler in their parent company General Equipment Corporation and started their restaurant in Indianapolis, Indiana. In 1957, they opened their first Burger Chef.

Burger Chef spread across the United States, following a strategy of opening outlets in smaller towns. By 1972, its number of locations (1,200) was surpassed only by McDonald's (1,600) .In 1968, General Foods Corporation purchased the chain and continued its rapid expansion. By 1969, international expansion was underway with General Foods building ten Burger Chef outlets in Australia. The expansion ended in 1975 with a US$1.3 million loss.

The chain had two mascots: Burger Chef, voiced by Paul Winchell, and Jeff (the chef's juvenile sidekick).

In 1982, General Foods sold Burger Chef to the Canadian company Imasco, which also owned Hardee's, for US$44 million (equivalent to $133.43 million in 2022).I Imasco converted many locations to Hardee's restaurants and let franchises and locations near existing Hardee's locations convert to other brands.Remaining restaurants that did not convert to Hardee's or new names and branding simply closed.