The first Burger King restaurant opened in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1953.
Keith J. Kramer and his wife’s uncle, Matthew Burns, opened the restaurant under the name Insta-Burger King. Its name referred to the Insta-Broiler cooking machine used for hamburgers. The business later encountered financial difficulties, and franchisees James McLamore and David Edgerton acquired it in 1954.
McLamore and Edgerton redesigned the operation, replaced the Insta-Broiler with a gas grill, and expanded the company. They retained the Burger King name, which had already been used by the original Jacksonville business. This is why 1953 is associated with the founding of Burger King, while 1954 marks the beginning of the company led by the better-known later owners.
The opening date is sometimes confused with Burger King’s 1954 acquisition or the 1957 introduction of the Whopper. Those were later milestones in the chain’s development.