Babbitt recalls Burger Chef’s early days

The following was originally published July 23, 2016.

Fifty years ago this summer, one of the first fast food chains opened up in Shelbyville. Mike Babbitt was behind the venture as the first manager of the new Burger Chef. In July 1966, the S. Harrison restaurant debuted.

“It was a pretty big deal back then,” Babbitt said. “You could get a whole meal for 75 cents.”

Babbitt was only 23 and new to the Shelby County area, having moved from New Castle before opening the store. The building remains, with Grandma’s Pancake House now serving where the former Hardee’s also stood. Burger Chef restaurants also popped up in the surrounding towns of Columbus, Madison, and New Castle.

Other than Country Lad, Burger Chef was the first fast food burger place to open in Shelbyville.

“[Burger Chef] sold hamburgers, cheeseburgers, double cheeseburgers, fish sandwiches, French fries, milkshakes, and soft drinks,” Babbitt said.

Burger Chef sold hamburgers for 15 cents with the slogan “Home of the World’s Greatest Hamburger - Still Only 15¢!”

“All the high school kids wanted to work there!” Babbitt said.

The first ad for Burger Chef appeared in The Shelbyville News on March 19, 1966. The snippet details the construction process for the new restaurant. Burger Chef subsequently started advertising the restaurant’s opening, slated for July.

After about 30 years of business and 3,500 store openings, Burger Chef sold to what we now know as Hardee’s.

Babbitt left the franchise in 1971, moving on to open up a new restaurant called Lums.

But all these years later, many locals still remember Burger Chef and its catchy commercials.

“I can remember the ‘Burger Chef and Jeff’ commercials on TV,” local resident Wanda Hensley said.

Hensley also mentioned how hard it was to find a fast food place nearby home during that time period. Now there seemingly are McDonalds’ in people’s backyards.

This summer marks the 50th anniversary of the opening of Shelbyville’s Burger Chef. Since then, Shelby County has seen many fast food restaurants come and go. It is safe to say that Burger Chef paved the way for numerous other businesses to establish franchises here.