Before it was royalty, Burger King had this name
In 1953, a few Miami entrepreneurs prepared to open a restaurant in the brand new fast food industry. According to Burger King founder Jim McLamore’s memoir, their original name for the chain wasn’t the world famous Burger King, however. Instead, they called their new venture Insta-Burger.
The Insta part of the name came from the Insta machines that were supposed to mechanize hamburger and shake production. Though the shake machine worked quite well, the first hamburger broiler was a greasy, sloppy mess that dripped hamburger grease onto the buns.
Burger King is still headquartered in the Miami area (following a lot of corporate drama in between its founding and the present). The restaurant opened as Insta-Burger King, and after changing hands a few times it became Burger King. The opening menu included 18 cent hamburgers, 18 cent milk shakes, ten cent french fries, and ten cent sodas.
