The Only Place In The US Where Burger King Can't Legally Use Its Own Name - Tasting Table

"Burger King is a fast food giant. It operates nearly 20,000 stores, with a footprint spread across over 100 countries, where an incredible 11 million customers walk through one of its doors each day. Within the U.S., they have over 6,500 outlets across 51 states and territories. But, despite this dominating presence, there's one tiny American town where you won't find the iconic Whopper: Mattoon, Illinois, where Burger King can't legally use its name."

"Back to the 1950s, a Mattoon-based couple Gene and Betty Hoots acquired a successful ice-cream business called the Frigid Queen, and decided to add a burger-and-fries outlet to their home-spun operation. Run out of a garage behind the ice cream shop, they called it Burger King, and even applied for a statewide patent on the name. This was granted to them two years after opening, in 1959."

"In another origin story running in parallel, James McLamore and Dave Edgarton opened a restaurant in Miami called Insta-Burger-King. More ambitious than the Hoots, they incorporated as Burger King Corporation in 1957 and began their journey towards world domination. However, this journey hit a speed bump when they arrived in Mattoon, Illinois, where The Original Burger King still stands as the only Burger King within a 20-mile radius."

Burger King operates nearly 20,000 stores globally and serves about 11 million customers daily, including over 6,500 U.S. outlets. Mattoon, Illinois is an exception where Burger King cannot legally use its name. In the 1950s Gene and Betty Hoots added a Burger King to their Frigid Queen ice-cream business and obtained a statewide patent in 1959. Separately, James McLamore and Dave Edgarton created Insta-Burger-King and incorporated Burger King Corporation in 1957. A court allowed Burger King Corporation to use the name statewide but prevented it from opening within 20 miles of Mattoon without the Hoots' permission.

Read at Tasting Table