Flameout: The Rise and Fall of Burger Chef

by John P. McDonald

This is the story of the greatest might-have-been in the history of the fast food business. How did a company that began almost by accident become the innovation leader by 1960? What caused a decade-long slide that began right at the moment of their greatest success? Understanding begins with studying the experiences that forged Burger Chef and its leaders, and then learning from the mistakes corporations can make when they replace innovation and entrepreneurship with process and control—a lesson as important today as it was a half-century ago.

Genres: Nonfiction

238 pages, Paperback

First published February 20, 2011

Reviews

[Bookworm · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just wanted to read something a little different and thought a food history about a burger place I had never heard of might be fun. It's included with my Kindle Unlimited subscription so it seemed like a good read.

It's about the rise and fall of a burger chain that once rivaled McDonald's and could have potentially overtaken it. But bad decisions, staffing mistakes, general errors that could have been prevented (such as the locations all eventually looking completely different from one another) but was perhaps inevitable due to being sold to General Foods marks the decline and fall of Burger Chef until it gets folded into and sold to Hardee's.

Having never heard of the place I can't say I was too attached to what happened and it felt like another case study of what not to do. But overall it was a quick read. I wouldn't have gone out of my way to pick this up and only read it because it's included in my subscription.

Might be good if you're interested in food histories, burger chains, how not to run an entity like this but I wouldn't go out and buy a copy if you can find one. Library borrow if you're really interested but this probably only appeals to very select audiences.

[Victor Muthoka · Rating 4 out of 5]

To say that this was an entertaining read would be an understatement. I'd had this book on my kindle wish list for almost three months, anticipating it every day. I read it in a record 3 hours.

Starting out in a obscure fashion, flameout recounts the rise and fall of the circus business. This paints a background to the life of the founder, Frank Porter Thomas. Starting out as a maker of rides for circuses, fairs & carnivals, frank's love of things mechanical leads him to make a frozen custard making machine. This sets off a chain of events that accidentally (for that is what it is really) leads to the birth of Burger King.

Frank Sr, together with his son and others soon find Burger King being their largest unit of the running businesses. They eventually decide to franchise in part due to inspiration from the yet growing McDonalds & Dairy Queen. Burger King grows impressively as Frank and co show a deep understanding of handling a franchise business. Eventually, they're forced to sell to General Foods, marking the start of their decline.

In spectacular fashion, General Foods immediately changes the culture of Burger King, initiating the decline. Muzzling & bullying of franchisees, glaring staffing mistakes, locating the executive team in another state away from the Burger King headquarters, extreme & rushed makeovers that dilute Birger King are some of the most comical (& fatal) errors that run down this once thriving company. Once ahead of the then growing McDonalds & expected to outgrow it by leaps and strides, Burger Chef's downward spiral is almost criminal in its carelessness. The epilogue covers the fate of the original team that started Burger Chef, after it's demise.

I recommend this book to:
Anyone interested in franchising. You will see first hand how the franchise business model works.
Anyone interested in learning the pitfalls in poor management of a thriving business.
Anyone interested in a "fast paced" business "memoir".
Anyone interested in acquisitions, takeovers, mergers, buyouts (especially in the fast food industry)
Anyone interested in the fast food industry.

[Robert Nardin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lessons on how to grow and kill a successful business. In Flameout, John P. McDonald tells the story of Burger Chef, the one burger company that outpaced McDonald's and could have taken its place at the top of the fast food heap. In 1971 there were 1,200 Burger Chef restaurants and less than 1,300 McDonald's restaurants. By 1982, what was left of Burger Chef was folded into the Hardee's chain and was no more.

I was particularly interested in this book because when I was a kid almost every happy memory I had culminated with a visit to Burger Chef. Most of my fondest memories of friends and family had Burger Chef in it..... and then it was gone. With its works bar and make your own sundae, not to mention Star Wars and king kong ephemera it was about the best restaurant experience a little boy could have. It was killed by General Foods and vulture capitalism. Burger Chef went from a period of innovation and entrepreneurship to process and control. They lost their way.

This could have been a very boring tale, but McDonald makes it interesting. He tells about the innovations that made Burger Chef from just a demonstration restaurant (it was designed to showcase the restaurant equipment manufactured by General Equipment) to the fastest growing restaurant chain in America. Their equipment and innovations are now standard. And, just as clearly, he details the leadership confusion that led Burger Chef to disaster.

This was a good read. It made Frank Thomas and those who created Burger Chef real. Thank you Frank Thomas for giving me so many happy childhood memories.

[Dale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lessons on how to grow and then kill a restaurant chain

Published in 2011 by CreateSpace

In Flameout, John P. McDonald tells the story of Burger Chef, the one burger company that outpaced McDonald's and could have taken its place at the top of the fast food heap. In 1971 there were 1,200 Burger Chef restaurants and less than 1,300 McDonald's restaurants. By 1982, what was left of Burger Chef was folded into the Hardee's chain and was no more....

Read more at: http://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/2012/...

[Ian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Can't say the story grabbed me too much. Maybe I would have appreciated it more if I were older and knew the brand. Really hard to get much out of this that's applicable for modern business application. I commend the author for giving us a business failure case -- these are arguably more useful than business successes. And most businesses that fail do so in an unspectacular way like Burger Chef, rather than Enron or Worldcom. Still, the actual book didn't leave me with many insights.