Henry's Hamburgers
Henry's Hamburgers is a former American fast-food restaurant chain of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Only one franchise store remains today.
 Henry's, Benton Harbor, MI, 2009 | |
| Type | Wholly owned subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Restaurants |
| Genre | Fast Food |
| Founded | 1954 |
| Headquarters | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Products | Fast food (including hamburgers, French fries, and milkshakes) |
| Parent | Bresler's Ice Cream |
| Website | http://www.henryshamburgers.com/ |
History
In 1954 the Bresler's Ice Cream Company decided to expand into the growing fast-food drive-in industry. Company executives were looking for a new outlet to promote higher sales of their malts and shakes without altering their existing ice cream shop franchises. Under the name Henry's Hamburgers, many franchises were eventually established. The name Henry was chosen to honor the memory of the late Henry Bresler, one of the brothers who had founded the ice cream company. Henry's was modelled after James Collin's Hamburger Handout restaurants in Southern California which in turn had been modelled after the McDonald brother's San Bernardino operation. They were both a Chicago area competitor and copy of McDonald's [1]
Growth
Just two years later, by 1956, Henry's Hamburgers had thirty-five locations in the Chicago area. At the time that outnumbered some of the industry's current giants, such as McDonald's. By the early 1960s there were over two hundred Henry's restaurants across America with operations headquarters in Chicago.[2] Henry's used the advertising slogans "Aren't you hungry for a Henry's?" and "Head for Henry's", and offered burgers for as low as 15 cents or "ten burgers for a buck".[3]
Decline
Although the reasons remain mostly unclear, by the mid-1970s Henry's Hamburger locations were closing at a fast rate. In the early 1970s Henry's franchise units in Chicago starting using horse meat in their hamburgers. Horse meat at the time was cheaper than hamburger meat and was used as filler. While horse meat was approved by the FDA, Henry's Hamburger's franchise units in Chicago were not informing the public about the use. Public outcry in the months following caused the failure of all the franchise units in the Chicago area.
Mergers and ownership changes within the Bresler company no doubt played a large role. Among other reasons could be a failure to add popular features like drive-thru pickup, diversifying of menu items like competitors, and massive national advertising campaigns by McDonald's, Burger King and other competitors.[1] The only remaining location is in Benton Harbor, Michigan.
References
- Fast Food: Roadside Restaurants in the Automobile Age by John A. Jakle and Keith A. Sculle
- Slavicek, Dav. "Henry's Hamburgers". www.henryshamburgers.com.
- "Henry's Hamburgers". Archived from the original on August 3, 2008. Retrieved November 23, 2017.