Not every burger joint gets to be a McDonald’s or a Burger King. For every fast-food empire that took over the world, there were plenty of chains that started strong, built a decent following, and then disappeared. Some were pioneers in their own right and introduced ideas that the bigger brands later ran with.
Here are 10 burger chains that meant something but don't exist anymore.
Hoosier Brothers Donald and Frank Thomas, owners of General Equipment in Indianapolis, were hired by Burger King for their flame broiler that could cook 800 burgers an hour in the 1950s. Instead of selling their technology, they got an idea and founded their own chain — Burger Chef — in 1957.
By 1972, Burger Chef had 1,200 locations and was McDonald's biggest rival. Before McDonald’s ever dreamed up the Happy Meal, Burger Chef started marketing to kids with the Funmeal — a burger, fries, a drink, a sweet treat, and a toy. McDonald's introduced its now iconic Happy Meal six years later. Financial missteps caught up with the chain, and in 1982, General Foods sold 679 Burger Chef locations to Hardee’s for $44 million. Most were rebranded, while a few independent Burger Chefs held on for a while. The last one, in Cookeville, Tennessee, closed in 1996.
We won’t say that White Tower was a complete ripoff of White Castle, but let’s just say if you squinted, you might not be able to tell the difference. Opened in 1926, they didn’t exactly try to hide it — they were textbook copying what White Castle was doing. I mean, it was called White Tower, for Pete’s sake. It had white, fortress-like buildings, a similar menu, and even familiar slogans. Logically, White Castle wasn’t thrilled, and by 1934, a lawsuit forced White Tower to make some changes.
Nevertheless, White Tower did pretty well, reaching around 230 locations by the 1950s. But it couldn’t survive the bigger fast-food sharks, and by the early 2000s, the last locations had closed.
In the 1950s, Biff-Burger — short for Best in Fast Food — opened with a unique selling point: its patented "Roto-Red Broiler," which flame-broiled burgers and simultaneously toasted the buns and coated them in a 27-spice sauce.
The chain grew fast, thanks to no-fee franchises and prefab Port-A-Units that could open in days. But in 1962, the Mary Carter Paint Company (which later became Resorts International) bought it, only to ditch it in 1976 to chase casino money. Stripped of support, Biff Burger crumbled, and by the mid-1980s, it was nearly extinct. The last original spot in St. Petersburg, Florida, shut down in 2021.
In 1957, NFL Hall of Famer Gino Marchetti, along with teammates Alan Ameche and Joe Campanella, opened Gino’s Hamburgers in Dundalk, Maryland, where their sirloin steak burgers quickly made them a Mid-Atlantic favorite, famous for the Gino Giant, its answer to the Big Mac, and a franchise deal with Kentucky Fried Chicken — it was one of the few burger joints to also serve KFC.
Gino’s grew fast, acquiring Tops Drive Inn in 1967 and peaking at 359 locations. However, expansion outside its home turf flopped, and by 1982, Marriott bought out the chain, converting most locations to Roy Rogers. The last original Gino’s shut down in 1986, though a short-lived revival in 2010 under Gino’s Burgers and Chicken saw a few locations pop up before fading out once again.
In 1956, Harold and Helen Kite opened Burger Queen in Winter Haven, Florida, with a buzzing mascot — Queenie Bee, a giant cartoon bee representing the brand. In 1961, Louisville-based partners helped the chain expand to over 100 locations across Kentucky, Indiana, and Tennessee. Then, in 1981, Burger Queen changed its name to Druther’s, and in place of the buzzing Queenie Bee came Andy Dandytale, who appeared on meal boxes and in TV ads.
At its peak, Druther’s had 171 locations in the U.S. and even franchises in England, Canada, Taiwan, and the UAE. But, competition was tough, and by 1990, the company struck a deal to convert most of its restaurants into Dairy Queens. By 1991, Druther’s had all but disappeared — except for one last location in Campbellsville, Kentucky, which still operates today, serving burgers, fried chicken, and a dose of nostalgia.
Even in the early days, the burger scene was oversaturated, so just having a good burger wasn’t enough to make a name for yourself. Chains had to stand out — so Red Barn decided that selling oversized burgers in barn-shaped buildings would set them apart. And for a while, it did.
The first Red Barn opened in 1961 in Springfield, Ohio, and grew to 400 locations. It was also one of the first to introduce a self-serve salad bar. But people mostly came for the Big Barney (a Big Mac competitor) and the Barnbuster (their take on the Quarter Pounder). Things started slipping in the late ‘70s when new owners took over and stopped focusing on the food.
By the late ‘80s, most Red Barns were gone. A few hung on under the name The Farm, serving the same menu, but even those eventually disappeared.
Carrols began in 1956 and grew when businessman Herb Slotnick expanded it into upstate New York. Carrols became known for its Club Burger and thick milkshakes, all at low prices.
By the 1970s, competition from McDonald's and Burger King made it harder to survive. Slotnick made the call to transition Carrols locations into Burger Kings rather than fight against the industry giants. By 1981, the last Carrols-branded restaurant in the U.S. had either closed or rebranded, though the company itself remains a major Burger King franchise operator today.
Wetson’s was New York’s answer to McDonald’s before McDonald’s even had a serious foothold in the area. Founded in 1959 by brothers Herb and Errol Wetanson, the chain quickly became known for its 15-cent burgers, 10-cent fries, and a slogan that echoed McDonald’ s — "Look for the big W."
Wetson’s had around 70 locations in the greater New York area, particularly in Long Island and Brooklyn. They had their own version of the Big Mac, called Big W, and it had a strong local following.
However, McDonald's did way better, as did Burger King, and when the two chains expanded aggressively into the Northeast in the 1970s, Wetson’s couldn’t keep up.
By 1975, it was sold to Nathan’s Famous, which converted or closed most of its locations, marking the end of Wetson’s as a standalone burger brand.
By now, it’s clear that in the early days of fast food, brothers loved opening burger joints. Yankee Doodle Dandy was no exception. Chris and Bill Proyce launched the chain in December 1966 in Bensenville, Illinois, and went all-in on the patriotic theme. We’re talking red, white, and blue everywhere, plus a slogan that sounded straight out of a Fourth of July parade: "Come On Down Where The Good Times Are! Yankee Doodle Dandy! The menu didn’t stray far from American comfort food — burgers, club sandwiches, chicken tenders, and grilled cheese. Their TV ads even featured a woman dressed as Betsy Ross because, apparently, nothing says eat here like Revolutionary War cosplay.
By 1976, Yankee Doodle Dandy had 27 locations, but in the early ‘80s, the Proyce brothers decided to pivot to casual dining. Some locations became Bailey’s Restaurant & Bar, while the rest closed.
Back in 1938, William Singer opened Royal Castle in Miami, Florida, with a simple idea — small, square burgers cooked fresh and served fast. Sound familiar? Yeah, it had more than a little in common with White Castle, but Royal Castle put its own spin on things. The chain became known for its birch beer and freshly squeezed orange juice.
Royal Castle did well and expanded to over 200 locations across Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Ohio. But again, McDonald's and Burger King were taking over in the 1970s, and Royal Castle struggled to keep up. In 1969, it was bought out by Performance Systems, but the money problems didn’t stop. By 1975, the company was done — except for one surviving location in Miami, which still serves its classic menu today.
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