Kewpee Hamburgers

Samuel V. Blair opened a hamburger stand in Flint, Michigan, in 1923 and called it the Kewpee Hotel, after the Kewpie dolls that were a national craze at the time. Only White Castle is an older hamburger chain. Kewpee grew by licensing its name: there were about 200 by 1929 and more than 400 just before the Second World War, mostly in smaller Midwestern cities. Among the children who ate at one, in Kalamazoo, was Dave Thomas, who later said the place, with its square burgers and thick malts, was what made him want to go into the business. He founded Wendy’s in 1969.

In 1967 the owners of the trademark demanded a full franchise deal and a share of profits, and most licensees refused, closing or changing their names. The original Flint stand became Halo Burger. The name survived in Lima, Ohio, where Hoyt “Stub” Wilson had opened a Kewpee in 1928. His downtown building of 1939, all porcelain enamel and stainless steel in Streamline Moderne style, was one of the first in town with air conditioning, and in the 1940s it had a turntable that spun cars around to leave the drive-through.

Lima now holds the trademark and three of the five remaining restaurants; there is one more in Racine, Wisconsin, and a family-run Weston’s Kewpee in Lansing, Michigan. The menu is short and old-fashioned: hamburgers made from beef delivered daily by a Lima butcher and ground and pattied in the restaurant, homemade pies, frosted malts and chili. The slogan has not changed in decades: “Hamburg pickle on top, makes your heart go flippity-flop!”

Five restaurants: three in Lima, Ohio, plus one each in Racine, Wisconsin, and Lansing, Michigan.

• Culver's (United States, since 1984). Wisconsin in a burger: buttered buns, cheese curds and frozen custard. Also built on beef.
• Krystal (United States, since 1932). The South’s answer to White Castle: tiny square burgers with mustard and onions. Also built on beef.
• MrBeast Burger (United States, since 2020). The YouTube star’s burger brand, cooked in other restaurants’ kitchens and ordered through an app. Also built on beef.
• Halo Burger (United States, since 1923). The original Kewpee stand from Flint, Michigan, home of the Olive Burger and the Boston Cooler. Also built on beef.