Farewell To 1950s Fast Food: The Defunct Burger Chain That Was Once Bigger Than McDonald's

McDonald's has become a fast-food juggernaut for a reason. No matter where you are in the world, there's a good chance those golden arches aren't too far away. For decades, it's outpaced the biggest fast-food chains on nearly every front, though it technically isn't the most popular fast-food chain anymore. That crown now belongs to Mixue Bingcheng, a Chinese brand known for fruit drinks, bubble teas, and ice cream. Still, when it comes to burgers, no one has managed to dethrone McDonald's. However, a now-defunct chain called Henry's Hamburgers was once a bigger source of competition. 

Henry's Hamburgers is a chain restaurant we bet you forgot existed. Founded in the 1950s by the Bresler's Ice Cream Company, Henry's quickly latched onto the rising popularity of drive-ins in America. Within a decade, it had more than 200 outlets across the United States, about as many as McDonald's at the time. Though the chain has mostly slipped from memory, those who do remember it recall the restaurant with deep nostalgia. "We literally lived across the street from Henry's ... I think you could get five burgers for $1.00 on certain days of the week. My parents would give us like $5.00 and we would get 15 burgers and a pound of fries and eat like we were kings," one longtime fan wrote on the franchise's website. 

Drive-thru restaurants rose in popularity throughout the 1950s. Bresler's Ice Cream Company saw the opportunity and jumped in. However, Henry's rise wasn't just a byproduct of the booming roadside-dining culture. It was also the result of another clever move. 

In 1960, the chain ran an ad in the Green Bay Press-Gazette inviting people to invest in and operate their own Henry's Drive-In. The advertisement did double duty. It pitched franchising opportunities but also spotlighted Henry's 15-cent hamburgers, proudly made with 100 percent beef. The message stuck. Henry's claimed the ad helped it sell over ten thousand burgers, cementing its reputation as a rival to McDonald's. 

Today, the brand has all but vanished, save for one lone, retro-style location that's been flipping burgers in Benton Harbor, Michigan, since 1959. And there's a reason why. "They [the Michigan outlet] established a reputation for service and value, listening to their customers instead of the franchisor, which enabled them to remain in business after the Henry's chain ceased to be a player in the 1970s," the franchise had stated. But even though only one Henry's remains, its golden era still lingers like the aftertaste of a meal you never quite forget.