Who Invented Burger King?

One of the leading fast food chains in the world today, Burger King is known for its great-tasting, sumptuous and generous servings of high quality hamburgers. Likewise, it serves other types of delicious treats such as salads, milkshakes and French fries. Today, the product offering of this restaurant chain has grown even further, now serving different kinds of fish and chicken dishes. Aside from these things, there are still other important things to find out about this highly successful business including who invented Burger King.

The Invention of Burger King
Who invented Burger King? Based on reports, the concept behind this popular restaurant chain was invented by business partners David Edgerton and James McLamore. It was established on December 4, 1954 somewhere within the Miami area in Florida.

Before Burger King, there was Insta-Burger King, which was established in 1953 by Matthew Burns and Keith J. Kramer in Jacksonville, Florida. One of their trade secrets was the use of Insta-Broiler, which they used in their various franchises. This method of cooking produced an enticing flavor for the burgers. Edgerton and McLamore bought the rights to operate stores in the Miami area. They opened a branch of the Insta-Burger King within a Miami suburb on December 4, 1954.

Because of the growing demand, the two entrepreneurs tried to improve their cooking equipment. Instead of continuing the use of Insta-Broiler, they replaced it with flame broiler, which is basically a mechanized gas grill. At some point in time, financial difficulties took its toll on the Insta-Burger King franchise. Edgerton and McLamore grabbed this opportunity to buy the rights of the restaurant chain to operate nationally. After that, they renamed the restaurant chain as Burger King of Miami, which later on became Burger King Corp.

Additional Facts and Other Interesting Information
After Edgerton and McLamore founded Burger King Corp. in 1954, the company released in 1957 one of its biggest products ever, namely the Whopper. Packed with fresh and delicious ingredients, many consumers warmly accepted this super yummy treat. By 1958, it was able to release its first ever television commercial. In 1959, it decided to expand via franchising. In 1967, Pillsbury acquired the rights to Burger King. In 1977, the company hired Donald N. Smith in order to restructure the firm’s franchise system.

By 1982, Burger King was able to compete in the same level against major restaurant chains such as Wendy’s and McDonald’s, claiming that its fried burgers taste better than the products sold by the said competitors. In 1989, Grand Metropolitan plc decided to acquire Pillsbury. In 2002, Texas Pacific Group led a group of investors to acquire the rights to the restaurant chain.