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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Sixty years ago, Burger King founders James “Jim” McLamore and David Edgerton visited one of their Gainesville stores on 13th Street.

That day sparked the creation of the Whopper.

To celebrate, Quality Dining, Inc., the franchise owner for the Gainesville area, tore down the Burger King on Newberry Road and rebuilt it, complete with two drive-thru lanes, a mural commemorating the history of the Whopper and a Whopper replica sticking out of the side of the building.

Daniel Fitzpatrick, Quality Dining Inc.’s CEO, said they plan to remodel the rest of the Burger King locations in Gainesville.

“What a great thing it is to have something invented in your hometown that's known all around the world,” he said. “It was the 60th year since the creation of the Whopper, so we wanted to do something really special and unique.”

Fitzpatrick said when McLamore and Edgerton visited the 13th Street Burger King in 1957, the restaurant wasn’t performing as they had anticipated, given that it was next to UF.

“When they visited on that particular day, the restaurant wasn't particularly busy,” Fitzpatrick said. “They noticed there was a competitor down the street with large, quarter-pound burgers.”

At the time, Burger King was using small patties for their burgers, he said. However, after seeing the success of the other restaurant, they decided to serve up their own quarter-pound burgers, but they didn’t stop there. Fitzpatrick said unlike other restaurants, which normally cooked hamburgers on a griddle or stove, Burger King began to flame broil them.

“Business turned around immediately,” Fitzpatrick said, “and (McLamore) wanted to convey it was a big burger.”

Gainesville residents said they were glad to see the return of the Burger King on Newberry Road.

“We're happy to see them come back, because we didn't have one here for a long, long time,” Gainesville resident Jim Falkenburg said. “They did a great job, and we’re glad they're back.”

Others commented on how many notable food chains, like Sonny’s BBQ, began in Gainesville.

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Charles Anderson, a Gainesville resident and Burger King customer, said he likes the design of the renovated restaurant. He said new stores are always great for the city.

“Gainesville is just kind of like a mecca for that kind of thing,” Anderson said. “I think the store looks great.”

 Contact Adam Turner at aturner@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter: @fladam98.

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