National Cheeseburger Day on September 18th honors America’s favorite sandwich with a slice of cheese.
There are many theories to the beginning of the cheeseburger dating back to the 1920s. One story suggests that Lionel Sternberger is reputed to have invented the cheeseburger in 1926 while working at his father’s Pasadena, California sandwich shop, The Rite Spot. During an experiment, he dropped a slice of American cheese on a sizzling hamburger.
There are other claims of the invention of the cheeseburger:
- A cheeseburger appeared on a 1928 menu at O’Dell’s, a Los Angeles restaurant, which listed a cheeseburger, smothered with chili, for 25 cents.
- Kaelin’s Restaurant – Louisville, Kentucky says it invented the cheeseburger in 1934.
- Denver, Colorado – 1935 – A trademark for the name “cheeseburger” was awarded to Louis Ballast of the Humpty Dumpty Drive-In.
- According to its archives, Gus Belt, founder of Steak n’ Shake, applied for a trademark on the word “cheeseburger” in the 1930s.
