(from the forgotten food nobility dept.)
You’ve heard of Burger King and Dairy Queen, but does anybody remember Lordburger?
From 1972 to 1985, Lordburger was apparently the place to have fun.
LORDBURGER
Remember this one?Mike Frangos opened the first Lordburger on Prospect Avenue in downtown Cleveland in 1972. He soon opened restaurants on Rockside Road in Bedford Heights and Memphis Avenue in Old Brooklyn.
The first Lordburger franchise opened in June 1978 on State Road near Steels Corners Road in Northampton Township (now Cuyahoga Falls) under the ownership of Bob Vakos and Nick Pontikos.
It offered “The Biggest Little Menu in Fast Food Restaurants.”
Served on a kaiser roll, the signature sandwich was the Lordburger, a 5-ounce beef patty topped with American cheese, tomato, lettuce, onion, pickle and a special sauce. There was also a Ladyburger, which we can assume was a smaller sandwich.
The Ground Round weighed one-third of a pound and was served with cheese and sautéed onions.
Proclaiming that it was “More Than a Burger in a Bun,” Lordburger offered chicken dinners, fish sandwiches, grilled ham and cheese, chili, fries, milkshakes and ice cream sundaes. It also had a breakfast menu.
Leo the Lordburger Lion, a cartoon cat wearing a crown, was the mascot.
At the grand-opening celebration in August 1978, special guests included WHK’s Gary Dee, M-105’s David Spero and WSLR’s Don Dempsey and Dana Hudak.
The chain, which prided itself on “quick, efficient service, high quality food and superior cleanliness standards,” had plans to open 16 more restaurants, but for whatever reason, it didn’t happen.
The Northampton restaurant was boarded up by 1982 and turned into a Burger King a year later. The last Lordburger closed around 1985.
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