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Don Boyd | all galleries >> Memories of Old Hialeah, Old Miami and Old South Florida Photo Galleries - largest non-Facebook collection on the internet >> Miami Area RESTAURANTS, Drive-Ins, Bars, Lounges, Liquor Stores, Clubs, Strip Joints, etc. Gallery - All Years - click to view >> Burger King Images Gallery - click on image to view the gallery > 1960's - Burger King (store #2) on Tamiami Trail and SW 61st Avenue, Miami
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1960's Courtesy of Larry Martin

1960's - Burger King (store #2) on Tamiami Trail and SW 61st Avenue, Miami

6091 SW 8th Street, Miami, Florida


Thank you to Larry Martin for contributing this image of Burger King store #2 in the 1960's.


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Guest 10-Dec-2016 20:22
I remember in 1972 I could get a Whopper, fries & a coke for less than a dollar.
Guest 10-Jun-2016 01:27
I had one in Coral Gables and it was not good. Then I tried one in Ft Lauderdale and loved it. Even the casing was different and all the ingredients were balanced and spread through the dog. Too bad they are not consistent throughout the stores.
Elle 25-Oct-2015 14:41
Yes, I remember needing two hands to eat them, in the late 60's Chicago area. They had a ton of stuff on them that they slipping off onto the paper wrapper as you ate them. They were just delicious! Burger King could probably make a fortune if they'd bring back the original wide whoppers that people have to hold on with two hands. Talk about a new novelty! I'd pay for one of those original style burgers, no doubt!!
Mark Shaw 30-Jan-2015 00:49
I used to work at Burger King in 1965- Whopper was always 4 oz. of beef- cost was 39 cents- in 1965 we also had hot dogs that we had to cook in the fryer. Our work area had no A/C- only the eating area had a wall a/c unit. We were paid only $1 an hour. All orders were written on a paid, & we had to total each order by hand to make change- back then no computers to enter the orders on- uniforms were provided and were all white-M. Shaw
Guest 02-Nov-2014 10:52
If I remember it right, '60's whopper was 1/2 lb.on a roll about 6-7in.wide and it only came their way. Mayo,ketchup,mustard,lettuce,tomato,pickles. Actually, I had only one friend who could eat the whole thing. He was on our football team and he weighted about 225. The only other way to finish it, was first, to each smoke a joint. Those were the days/. I wonder if Colorado & Wash.St. Burger King's have thought about adding marijuana as an appetizer.
Guest 22-Jun-2014 18:06

I remember the whopper being so much larger it really took two hands to eat one snd now two f fingers
Henry Goodfriend 24-Jun-2013 15:13
I used to go to that counter with my mom around 1959-60 I loved going there, burgers were great!
Guest 03-Feb-2013 23:02
Mir Ali
Thanks for the memory.
guest 30-Sep-2012 10:16
I remember the first burger kings. My grandfather would buy my sister himself and I one. He would always get my grandmother a Whaler fish sandwich. They were huge. If memory serves, were they not bigger back in the 60's? It was all we could do to eat the whole sandwich. also does anyone remember Royal Castle's? They had those great tiny burgers and burch beer. Not root beer. They were so good
Guest 27-Jul-2012 18:40
BURGER KING IS STILL AT THE SAME SITE--IT WAS THE LOCATION OF THE ORIGINAL EXECUTIVE OFFICES--CARVEL IS NOW ACROSS THE STREET--J MUDD
Guest 07-Jul-2012 17:21
And don't forget, Burger King had to 'expand' their menu choices through the years. In the mid to late 1960s (the Mod-style advertising era on radio and TV) they marketed their own version of the 'Ham and Cheese' sandwich, which they official dubbed... 'Yumbo!'

"Hot beef(sic) sandwich just can't miss...
"Baked smoked-ham and natural-swiss..."
"Steaming hot on a golden-egg bun...
"Burger-King where eating is fun.
"Yum-bo!! Hot-Hot!" At Burger-King(tag)
Guest 07-Jul-2012 17:08
More correctly, the original commercial musical-jingle was: (Queue the marching music)
"There's a Burger King close to you, buy a whopper ...order two. Best burger - fries for miles around, broiled... not fried, how does that sound? Burger King... Burger King, Burger Kiiiiiiing!"

Yes, they were adamant for making sure people understood their burger-meal was sent through a broiler device, not grease-splattering up some giant cooking-grill as the 'competition' often did. ;)
Guest 03-Jul-2012 14:37
I ate there many times growing up, than when it became LaPalma Cuban resteruant, we would go there and eat Cuban sandwiches and churrios.
Guest 04-Feb-2012 18:04
There's a burger king close to you, buy a whoppper order two, best burger and fries for mile around, there's a burger king in your home town.
Debbie 02-Apr-2010 23:55
We would always stop in Ricmond, Va on the way to Grandma's. Mom's gone and Grandma are gone, but what great memories....that taste sure would bring it back!
Debbie 02-Apr-2010 23:53
So what is the recipe for the sauce? It was the best burger ever!!!!!!!!!!!!
Melissa Y 04-Feb-2010 14:30
Hey...I remember Lucio's! In the gables on coral way...best pizza ever
Guest 04-Feb-2010 14:28
Oh yeah!! Corner of my house!!! Now it is "La Palma"!!! I can remember trying to pull myself up on that counter!!!!
rick 05-Jan-2010 17:06
I also many times at a"most favorite" Burger King ever. Don't eat them now,their not the same. Meats from who knows where? anyway just is not the same. Good memory though.
Gus 26-Aug-2009 19:48
I think this was BurgerKing #2, #1 was on 8 street and 2nd Ave.
kikieagle17-Jun-2009 15:59
Juan R. Pollo,
I have been trying to search the internet for anything on Lucio's and you are the only one who refers to Lucio's. Do you recall the 24 Slice party pizza Lucio's made?
As far as this Burger King, I grew up on 54th Ave and 5th St , basically across the street from Fairlawn Elementary and West End Park. I have great memories from my childhood around that neighborhood. Whenever I'm in Miami, I still go to the location, which is now La Palma, that serves some good Cuban food.
I know that Arbetter's on 8th St always had good Hot Dogs, but I also remember the Burgers were also good and the French Fries were our favorite served in the the white boxes of the hot dog rolls.
Later,
Enrique "Kiki" Aguila
lmartin17-Jun-2009 14:42
Some time in the late 60's they added on to the back with air-conditioned seating. You still got the food at the front window however.
JEFF NORMAN 09-Jun-2009 16:04
IF MY MEMORY SERVES ME RIGHT, I WORK AT THIS BURGER KING IN JANUARY OF 1973. THEY HAD ADDED ON TO THE BACK OF THE BUILDING SO THAT CUSTOMERS COULD COME IN AND EAT IN THE FRONT
R. Carter 20-Mar-2009 19:29
In 1961, I remember going to the Burger King on W. Sunrise Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale (It's still there!) to have my first Whopper. I had my tooth pulled (the ol' fashioned way... WITH PLIERS!). My father took me and my older brother there and got me one with everything on it. It tasted so good that I whistled for the first time in my life.
Rachelle S. F. MHS '60 16-Feb-2009 01:53
Betty, I think you may be right. Though my mind sometimes fails me for details that far back, I vaguely remember a strangely different burger that made you crave another. Keeping the burger warm in that sauce was most likely what they did. A burger and a drink and you were broke again. I worked at a near by Army Navy Store one summer when I was 15 for 70 cents an hour. It may have been closer to 57th Ave. at 8th St.
Betty 15-Feb-2009 02:45
Dave... that was a Burger King. But it was one of the ORIGIONAL stores... not like today. The orig stores lasted until about 1972.. depending on the area. Those burgers were grilled and soaked in the sauce. Burger King now flame broils...They seemed to start that soon after Hardees came along with it's flame broiled burger... hee hee... Of course BK now doesn't have a sauce anymore... BUT the orig ones did! most definately... look back thru the posts... a few others remembered it too!
(maybe you're a younger guy and missed the BK first go round ! )
Dave 13-Feb-2009 21:15
Betty: that must be a different Burger King. Whoppers were not soaked in anything, just "flame broiled"
Betty 13-Feb-2009 04:34
WE had a Burger King (Richmond, VA) back in the 60's. AND I do remember that sauce that they used to soak the burgers in... they'd make them ahead of time and put them in a tin filled with a tomato base sauce... Some of you who worked there,,,TELL US WHAT THAT SAUCE WAS?? How do you make it? OH WHAT I"D PAY TO EAT ONE OF THOSE ORIGIONAL BURGERS ONCE AGAIN...
Guest 03-Nov-2008 02:53
hea dan, my bro how you doin? im looking at old mia. and what do i see but your comment!!! how the hell r u? anyway i would eat at the kentuky fried chicken a block west... call me sometime bro. your bro bob
lmartin08-Oct-2008 01:49
This was a great place to stop after swimming at West End Pool all day. Sometime in the late 60's they added a "dinning" area to the back. They still had the same self service window close to the street as in this picture and last I saw this place it still looked similar although not a BK.
Larry
Dan Marx 04-Oct-2008 19:49
I ate here all the time growing up in the 50's and 60's. Also went to Fairlawn, Kinloch and Coral Park. Lived on Tamiami Canal Rd. & 63rd Ave. I also knew Mike Tandlich and Mike Sneed.
lmartin23-Jul-2008 17:07
Mike,
The REC was the best and I remember you playing baseball, etc there. See the comments with the picture of the Grand Union across the street from this BK.
Larry Martin
michael tandlich 16-Jul-2008 05:15
the bk is now a cuban fast food place. just west of bk was the dairyqueen which also housed ARBETTERS HOT DOGS. now on bird and 87th ronnie arbetter the son of bob arbetter just passed away. the daughter and david the son still run it . the best hot dog and chile in town... just east of bk, was a kfc, owned by arbetters brother in law. does anyone besides bruce yelen remember the REC the recreation center in west miami. someone mentioned GOLD STAR DELI, how about PAPIERS BAKERY.
Parks 03-Jul-2008 03:02
Juan R. Pollo, You may be right about it being west of Saunders. It was on the north side of Coral Way and it was near a Carvel's. Saunders is gone but there is still a Burger King on the same site.
Bruce Yelen 09-May-2008 17:16
The bigger the burger....
The better the burger....
The burgers are bigger at Burger King!
Flisk 16-Apr-2008 01:36
The whopper is definatly the best burger around, no question about it!
Paul Melbourne, Fl 16-Apr-2008 01:24
Hey everybody! Listen, you all that worked there and ate there in the 50's and 60's- My dad said before the Whopper, they had these burgers that soaked in a big metal tin of a tomato-like sauce. The local kids called them floaters and they'd have the server fish around for one near the bottom because they had more flavor. Is anyone familiar with this and could you explain what they were like, or consisted of? Thanks!
Gary Pales 05-Apr-2008 12:20
This is where my life long relationship with BK began. 39cent whoppers and 60 second service, times HAVE changed. I would nab a whopper as I was delivering newspapers. Great memories.
Juan R. Pollo 28-Mar-2008 03:01
Parks, are you sure about that Burger King being east of Saunders? The only Burger King I knew in that area was next to Carvel between 29 and 30th, a couple of blocks west of Saunders, on the north side of Coral Way, across from Lucio's.
Mitch Schack 02-Mar-2008 19:27
There's a Burger King close to you
Try a Whopper order two
Best burger buy for miles around
Broiled, not fried, how does that sound?
Burger King, Burger King, Burger King!

Who can forget that jingle???
Mike Beegle 22-Feb-2008 18:15
This really takes me back. I worked here my senior year at Gables with Eddie Henton and Bobby Messing. 1956-57. Amazing times. Some of the best memories of my life at CGHS playing in the band, an education that led me to a 27 year gig playing saxophone and clarinet in the Navy Band.
Linda 22-Feb-2008 17:17
Hi, Anita. I did know your brother, but not very well. Of course, everybody would know the quarterback. Not sure he knew who I was.
vickil21-Feb-2008 17:09
Anita, I tried to get a job there but was told they didn't hire girls. That must have been in the late 50's. They actually had a 'now hiring' sign in the window but would not hire me!
Anita 20-Feb-2008 23:10
Linda you went to Coral Park High School. Did you know my brother Michael Sneed. I think he was the quarterback for the football team.
Linda 20-Feb-2008 18:39
This is where I had my first whopper too! Oh, the memories. I went to Fairlawn Elementary, Kinloch Park Junior High, and Coral Park High. Moved to Tallahassee in 1966, still there, so seeing this REALLY takes me back!
Carol 07-Feb-2008 19:17
I remember eating at the Burger King next to Ponce de Leon Jr. High. My brother suddenly said, "gee I swallowed something hard!" I said to him "did you remember to take the toothpick out?" They used toothpicks to hold those whoppers together!
Anita 25-Jan-2008 04:01
Marty must have passed away as his wife and daughter ran the burger king after he died. I started at 75 cents and hour and worked my way up to 1.05 an hour. That was in 1960 and 1961. Two other students from Southwest Miami High also worked there. We use to have a great time and worked hard.
Armando Campaneria 24-Jan-2008 02:27
When I worked there in the early '70s (an old lady & her daughter were the owners)-
(Yunis was the manager and lived across the street at the trailer park).
A Whopper, fries & coke cost $.99 plus 4 cents tax for a total of $1.03.
My hourly rate at the time(and I was 16 years old) was $1.15/hr.
Now...remember 'Gold Star' deli across the street next to 'Grand Union'.
Guest 22-Jan-2008 05:29
Rachelle S. MHS60This was where I had my first whopper also!  I went to Fairlawn Ele. in the 6th grade; Kinloch Park Jr. High, and then MHS.  My girlfriend and I would walk there from 52nd Ave. and 4th St.  The public swimming pool at the Fairlawn Ele. School grounds was finished the year I was in the 6th grade so we were able to have swimming lessons during P.E. class.  I was in the only portable class room at the school then and was taught my Mrs. Pious, the nicest teacher I ever knew.
Anita 22-Jan-2008 02:39
This is the Burger King where I had my first job. I worked there my junior and senior year and summers in 1960 and 1961. Yes Burgers were 19 cents and a small shake was 19 cents. So for 50 cents you could get a regular burger and a shake and still get change. There were no computers back then - you had to know how to add in your head. Those were great days. Marty Spelbaum ownd this one and it was plenty busy.
Guest 17-Jan-2008 19:56
John,
My first route with the Miami News was in 1957 in the North Miami area by the FEC tracks. At this time it was “The Miami Daily News” and anything west of the FEC tracks got an early edition of the Daily News. Later I took a route in Keystone Point and because this area was east of the FEC tracks I delivered the Blue Streak Edition – it had a blue line down the right hand side of the front page. This was important to some people because the Blue Streak edition had some racing scores that weren’t available in the earlier edition. I always carried a few extra copies on my route because every day someone would stop be and ask if I had an extras they could buy from me. I remember the large baskets for the papers on the front of my bike and also the saddle bags for over the rear fender. There were also the large rings with all the customers names and addresses and dates for payments which we punched out with our favorite paper punch of the time. There was something special about delivering the Sunday News early in the morning and I still can smell the aroma of the night blooming Jasmine in the humidity of early morning in south Florida.
Dave the Guest
Jeff 16-Jan-2008 07:55
This Burger King was just East of Lee's Dinette... later known as Lee's Music Center located at 6265 SW 8th Street (one of the first real "oldies" stores in the Miami area and run by the late Sol "Lee" Aidman - a character to end all characters)...

Burger King was in existence a little while before James McLamore bought the operation and started the corporation it is today. Located in downtown Miami, the original name was "Insta-Burger King", and was named as such because it used the "Insta-Burger" broiler.

McLamore was impressed with the burgers being served on a big five inch bun and eventually bought out the original owners.

Yes, the Whopper was originally 39 cents... and it does seem smaller now - but that's because of the reduction of the format of the Whopper to fit a four inch bun.

Remember their original credo? "Look for the sign of the king on the bun - where the prices are low and the eatin' is fun - Burger King... a real nice place to eat!"

That was way back in the 1950's B.C. [before cholesterol]...
Parks 15-Jan-2008 04:15
The first Burger King I went to was on Coral Way just east of Saunders Hardware.
I must have been very young as I couldn't finish my Whopper. Didn't they advertise "60 second service"? If my poor memory serves, James McLamore who started Burger King, also had a restaurant on Brickel Avenue across from the First Presbyterian Church. It was called "The Dinner Bell". He would have a man dressed as a chef standing out front ringing a bell to attract attention. This would have been in the mid fifties about the time he was starting Burger King.
Don Boyd14-Jan-2008 23:28
Sure seems like a lot of paper boys out there! I delivered the News in junior high for two years and then the Herald for the last two years of high school. Those early mornings killed me but the money was decent and it beat the hell out of mowing yards in the summer heat. Don
lmartin14-Jan-2008 21:25
Was everyone including me a paper boy in Miami? Miami News of course. I remember the Whopper at $.39 also around that time, but they still seem pretty big to me even now but do taste the same no matter where you get them. The sign refers to regular burgers which were good as well.
John 13-Jan-2008 15:22
Dave the Guest, My brother was a paper boy for the Miami News early to mid sixties. I used to help him on the weekends and he's take me to Royal Castle after we were finished....still at dark thirty. We had bikes w/ huge baskets on the front. This was in SW Miami. I remember the stars were so bright back then. Ref the Whopper, I remember 39 cents. Anyone remember them cheaper than that? I have been eating Whoppers since I was about 6 or 7. I'm 53. They still taste great; they still taste the same, but they seem smaller.
Guest 09-Jan-2008 04:32
This is the Burger King where I had my first Whopper. As a paperboy with the Miami News our District Manager would take us to different events and this seemed so far away from North Miami where I lived at the time. I had forgotten how the first Burger Kings were walk up until I saw this picture! Thanks for the memories.
Dave the Guest
robert cruz 28-Oct-2007 08:03
google map "6084 sw 8th st miami fl" and you will identify this building on street view mapping! theres even a guy standing in pretty much the same position at the window!
Guest 28-Oct-2007 03:11
i ate here all the time also went to fairlawn ele. school a few blocks north. that was back in late 50s early 60s. brings back memories. lived on 63rd ave and tamiami canal rd. great pics of my part of history. thanks, bob m
Guest 19-Oct-2007 21:09
This was one of the very first BK's
I ate there the day it opened!
My buddies and I would walk there all the time to get a burger and a chocolate shake
Charlie Wolff
Juan R. Pollo 12-Oct-2007 00:57
The Whopper happens to be one of my favorite foods. The jingle (as I remember it from the Roman Gabriel commercial) was "It takes two hands to handle a Whopper, the two-fisted burger at Burger King". Don't tell me I've been wrong all these years!
Guest 25-Sep-2007 05:10
"It takes two hands to handle a Whopper cause the burgers are bigger at Burger King." What a catchy jingle in the Burger King commercials of the late 60s and early 70s. If I'm not mistaken this Burger King location is now La Palma Restaurant, known for its churros and fritas, the Cuban style burger.

SA

Perez
Martha 19-Sep-2007 14:44
Always thought this was the best place in the neighborhood... well, this and the DQ down the block... still like those whoppers...