What was Burger King’s original name when it began in 1953?

Burger King’s original name when it began in 1953 was Insta-Burger King.

Keith J. Kramer and his wife’s uncle, Matthew Burns, founded the company in Jacksonville, Florida. Their business used an oven called the Insta-Broiler, which gave the restaurant its original name. The equipment was designed to cook hamburger patties efficiently while exposing them to heat from above and below.

Insta-Burger King encountered financial problems, and its Jacksonville operations were acquired in 1954 by David Edgerton and James McLamore. The new owners shortened the name to Burger King and began expanding the business, eventually building it into one of the world’s largest hamburger chains.

The name is sometimes incorrectly dated to 1954 because that was the year Edgerton and McLamore took control. However, the original company opened in 1953. Burger King’s later identity became closely associated with the flame broiler and the Whopper, but both came after the Insta-Burger King period.