Happy Anniversary Burger King: From Insta-Burger King to the Whopper
Today, July 23, marks the anniversary of the beginnings of Burger King, going back to 1953 and a restaurant in Jacksonville, Florida, called Insta-Burger King.
The story changed considerably from there. James McLamore and David Edgerton opened an Insta-Burger King franchise in Miami in 1954, eventually acquired the company, dropped the “Insta” from the name, and built Burger King into one of the biggest fast food chains in the world.
Then came the sandwich that would define the company.
The Whopper was introduced in 1957 and went on to become one of the most recognizable hamburgers in fast food. “Home of the Whopper” became part of the Burger King identity, and the Whopper itself has remained at the center of the menu for almost 70 years.
For my Food From Bag To Background photography project, I photographed both Whoppers and Double Whoppers, straight from Burger King, out of the wrappers and onto my very black black background.
And apparently one Whopper wasn’t enough for the photograph either.
Happy Anniversary Burger King!
You can see more of my photography, projects, motion, and my Blog on my website at https://www.secondfocus.com
Thank You!
Whopper Birthday
Some birthdays sneak up on you. Today happens to be the birthday of the Burger King Whopper, introduced in 1957 when a Miami burger stand decided America deserved something larger and more structurally ambitious than anything on the menu board.
James McLamore, one of the Burger King founders, noticed customers flocking to oversized burgers at rival drive-ins. His solution was simple: go bigger. Much bigger. The original Whopper sold for 37 cents and immediately rewired American expectations for how much beef should fit inside a bun. From there, fast-food evolution took over. The Double Whopper showed up because of course it did. The Angry Whopper arrived for people who needed emotional intensity with their lunch. The Brisket Whopper made a brief appearance to remind us that barbecue can be a personality trait. And then the Impossible Whopper landed in 2019, launching the plant-based arms race and proving that even vegetarians sometimes want a burger the size of a paperback novel.
This is my stack of Double Whoppers, photographed earlier. I didn’t have time to run out and buy new ones, but double is my personal preference anyway.
There is much more of my fast food project “Food From Bag To Background” on my website at
https://www.secondfocus.com/index/G0000wQ3fbeEezF0 You might find something to make you hungry, take a look. Thanks.
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