Inspired By A Vintage TV Icon, Only Boomers Remember This Forgotten Burger Chain

Dunkin', formerly known as Dunkin' Donuts, is an American success story. It's considered the world's largest donut chain and has been around for more than 75 years. But at one time, the company, back when it was known by the much more industrial-sounding name Universal Food Systems, also owned a regional burger chain that we're betting only boomers from New England will remember. Originally called Howdy's Beefburger before rebranding as Howdy Beef N' Burger, it launched in 1961 under Dunkin' Donuts' founder, William Rosenberg.

Howdy's mascot was a dead ringer for the much-loved Howdy Doody marionette that American kids had been obsessed with since the wooden cowboy hit TV screens with his own show in 1947 and remained a mainstay until 1960. Howdy's, the burger chain, didn't have the same kind of staying power as its namesake, and like other fast food joints of yore, such as California's Pup N' Taco or Florida's Milligan's Beef Burgers, it's long gone and only a culinary history footnote today. But for a while it did have some success. At its height, there were 30 locations spread across New England serving its signature Big B burgers, shakes, and even seafood items like lobster rolls and clam strips. So, what happened to this burger chain? It's a corporate tale as old as time.

William Rosenberg launched what would become Dunkin' Donuts in 1948, changing the name (from Open Kettle) in 1950. He'd already had quite a journey. He quit school in the 8th grade during the Depression to help support his family and worked at various jobs, from selling shoes to ice cream, before starting a successful food business catering to factory workers. After Dunkin' Donuts started to become successful, Rosenberg expanded into other areas, including burgers with Howdy's.

Interestingly, there was another small Southern California chain with the same name that operated in the mid-1950s, but we were unable to determine whether it was connected to Rosenberg's chain. Either way, by 1963 there were just 15 of the New England restaurants, which attempted to drum up business thanks to their connection to Howdy Doody, but they faced stiff competition from McDonald's.

Rosenberg had also expanded into seafood with the Goodlight English Fish & Chips Shoppes, along with three pancake restaurants and a deli. When his son, Robert Rosenberg, became the company's president in 1963, he began winnowing down these other businesses to focus on Dunkin' Donuts. Even so, the company continued to expand Howdy's and co-branded the smaller chain with Dunkin' locations. But while Dunkin' Donuts continued to expand in the 1980s, Howdy's had all but disappeared by that decade. Today, while Dunkin' has become ubiquitous, Howdy's lives on only in boomers' memories.