Who is credited with coining the word “cheeseburger” at his father’s restaurant in Pasadena in 1924?

Lionel Sternberger is credited with coining the word “cheeseburger” at his father’s restaurant in Pasadena in 1924.

According to the commonly repeated account, Sternberger experimented with placing cheese on a hamburger while working at The Rite Spot, a restaurant operated by his father, Jeffrey Sternberger. The restaurant’s location in Pasadena, California, is commemorated by the city as part of the cheeseburger’s early history.

The claim concerns the name “cheeseburger,” not necessarily the first hamburger ever served with cheese. Earlier menus and anecdotes describe hamburgers with cheese, but Sternberger’s story is the best-known origin associated with the term. The spelling “cheeseburger” became standard, although “cheese hamburger” also appeared in early restaurant language.

Pasadena’s claim is sometimes confused with other cheeseburger-origin stories from Colorado and Kentucky. Those stories typically involve later restaurants or different claims, while Sternberger’s account specifically dates to 1924.