Tube City Almanac

March 17, 2009

Busy, Busy, Busy

Category: General Nonsense, Obscure Ephemera, Pointless Digressions || By



The entire editorial team at Tube City Almanac is incredibly busy right now. Normal service should resume in a day or two. Thanks for your patience.

Hey, is anyone else interested in joining the editorial team? We (me and the mouse in my pocket) need contributors --- especially people willing to actually, y'know, report on stuff.

Email me. G'wan, you know you want to.

. . .

In the meantime, think of as many Burger Chef locations in the Mon-Yough area as you can. The only one I remember was on Route 30 in Circleville, directly across the street from Berks' Men's Wear (near Ben Gross' Supper Club).

Post Burger Chef locations in the comments. (Tube City hard hat tip to Lileks for the commercial.)

And we might as well trot out Winky's locations, too. I remember two --- one on Walnut Street in the city, near Long Run Road; and another on Route 51 in Pleasant Hills, just south of the cloverleaf.

Where else were there Winky's? (Not Wilmerding. There was no Winky's in Wilmerding.)

. . .

Finally, happy St. Patrick's Day. You don't have to be Irish to celebrate; the pastor at our church took great pains on Sunday to point out that St. Patrick was actually descended from Romans.

In other words, St. Patrick was Italian. Except that he was born in Scotland, which makes him Irish, Scottish and Italian.

Now I'm getting hungry for soda bread, ale and spaghetti. That's what I get for writing before breakfast.






Your Comments are Welcome!

I think there was a Burger Chef across form the Great Valley Shopping Center in North Versailles, Pa.
Ron Mocadlo - March 17, 2009



Port Vue Liberty/South Allegheny school used to bus us to Rainbow pool once a week during the summer, and the big treat was getting a fifteen cent Winkyburger for lunch. That one was located on 48, a little north of where Taco Bell is now.

And if we wanted to upgrade, we could walk up lincoln way to Burger chef and get their twenty-three cent burger. It was located around where Stratwood caterers are now.

Winkys was also on 48 in Monroeville, where the big EXXon plaza is now. After Winkys pulled out, I believe Willi’s ski shop occupied the building for a while.
tim - March 17, 2009



I’m pretty sure there was a Burger Chef across from the County Airport in West Mifflin. I was really young, but I seem to recall going there with my folks.
Kellimac98 - March 17, 2009



There was a Burger Chef on Lincoln Way, About where the car lot was up from Stratigos on the same side of the street…I think.

;-)
Barry - March 17, 2009



Looking to set up a citizen journalist group? Good luck! If you need any advice, you know where to find me.
Yer Ol' Boss - March 17, 2009



Friend of mine from high school used to work at the Burger Chef in Circleville! And Tim beat me to the Winky’s on Mosside Blvd. (Rt. 48) in Monroeville.

“Winky’s makes you happy to be hungry.”

We also had a Winky’s here in Weirton, WV when I first moved here in the 70s. The bldg. is still there — the distinctive A-shape is hard to miss — but it’s used for something else now.
Lois (URL) - March 17, 2009



Boy, did that bring back memories… Being a West Virginia boy, Burger Chefs dotted the landscape—you could throw a piano and hit one.

We had one in my hometown of Ravenswood for many years until they were swallowed up the Pleaser’s people. Our nickname for the joint was “Burger Death.”
Ivan G. Shreve, Jr. (URL) - March 17, 2009



I can remember going to the Burger Chef on Lincoln Way for lunch. I ordered fries and the manager was working the counter. He called out the order to the person running the fryer as “Hot golden brown fries.” Apparently all menu items had to be referred to by their proper names.
Bill Huston - March 17, 2009



Bill, according to my mother, who worked at Cox’s during the holidays when she was a “yout,” “Mr. Robert” wanted customers addressed thusly: “I’d be pleased to help you, if I may.”

A little showmanship isn’t a bad thing.

Keep them Burger Chef and Winky’s memories coming, folks. I’m lovin’ it! (Oops, wrong burger chain.)
Webmaster - March 17, 2009



Double confirmation on the Winky’s on 48 in Monroeville, about halfway between Northern Pike and the entrance to Gateway High School. And to follow up on the chronology, it went from Winky’s to Willy’s to Super Games before being knocked down in favor of a bank. (Community Savings? Something like that?)

There was another Winky’s in Swissvale — not sure what the street name is, but if you’re headed into Swissvale on Braddock you go through a short tunnel (train trestle maybe?) and Winky’s was on your left.

And my memory is a little iffy on this one, but I think there was one on 22 in Murrysville, right across from where McDonald’s is today. I know it was a “Sandy’s” restaurant for a while, but I think it was a Winky’s at one point as well. The building later became “Busy Day Gourmet” and the last time I was out that way I think it was a cycle shop.
Bob (URL) - March 17, 2009



The White Oak Burger Chef was located on the land currently occupied by the old Lebowitz’s Cleaners, eye doctor and deli. Pretty sure it sat vacant through most of the 1980’s until the shopping center was built. And while we’re reminiscing, I’m almost positive the Sunoco next door used to be a “Redd Hedd (sp?)” gas station.
Keith Paradise - March 17, 2009



The Burger Chef in White Oak was located on the lot which now houses the small strip mall where the White Oak Cafe and Lebowitz Cleaners are now located.
I can remember when the Winky’s on 48, a little past Taco Bell used to have a special called “The Nickel Hamburger”. You would get a thin slab of meat and a bun. You had to supply your own condiments.
How many of you remember “Bud’s Red Hots”?
Bart - March 17, 2009



My sisters worked for a Winky’s along Browns Hill Road in Greenfield, just up the road from the Homestead High-Level Bridge. It now is an office building connected to the shopping development going in adjacent to Summerset across the Mon from the Waterfront.
Does it matter? - March 17, 2009



All of this burger talk is going to send me to Steak ‘n Shake tonight … I can just feel it coming.

My clogged arteries and straining waistband thank you. :-)
Webmaster - March 17, 2009



The location in Swissvale is now home to an Arby’s.

The Burger Chef on 30 was a frequent destination through the early/mid ’80s. It’s now the home of a travel agency.

Speaking of Burger Chef, I got on a little Google kick and looked up some tribute websites. There’s one at http://www.geocities.com/burgerchef_jeff/ — it’s kind of touching to read because it’s put together by the son of a franchise owner, who has since passed on.
Jim - March 17, 2009



Man I can taste the flame broiled burger at the Burger Chef on Lincoln Way like it was yesterday!!! The Winky’s was also in White Oak on Rt. 48 where the Famous Cloverleaf (not) was to be built.
John Orbell - March 17, 2009



In the 1960’s I spent a lot of time at the Winky’s across the High Level bridge from Homestead. The Chinese restaurant (Golden Gate) in Clairton was a Winky’s back in the day also. No matter what anyone says…...I liked the food. Burger Chef was good too!

Bill
Bill - March 17, 2009



The Winky’s just past the Homestead High-Level Bridge was a regular stop for me on the way to work in the early 80s. They had something called “Pizza Pockets,” a forerunner of today’s “Hot Pockets” crossed with Jeno’s Pizza Rolls, or something. (I have visions of a TV commercial called “Show Us Your Winky’s Pizza Pockets,” but I’m sure that’s just a hallucination.)

And I can’t believe no one else has mentioned this: The most notorious Winky’s location was in the former KQV showcase studio downtown, after 1410 made the switch to all-news and moved upstairs. Yes, they turned it into a Winky’s! Those bastards!
.
Seeing Eye - March 17, 2009



Now I’m hungry for Big Chef (loved that sauce!) and Winky’s friend donuts. I could tell you stroies about Winky’s ;)

In addition to St. patty’s day, I am celebrating the Birthday of Robert Tyre “Bobby” Jones Jr., a world class gentleman, author and golfer. Still the only golfer to win the Grandslam (He did it in 1930!)

Bob was born on St. Patty’s Day 1903 in Atlanta, GA and became the founder of arguably golf’s greatest course, Augusta National.
Paul "Sluggo" Shelly (URL) - March 17, 2009



I conger with the Burger Chef location in White Oak and then down to the Theater in White Oak. And the one next to B Gross Resturant that is a Travel Agency.
I drove though Crafton? maybe Rt 60 there is/was a vetrinary business that I would be positive was a windkys because of the building construction and the sign hosing
Joe Ukasik - March 18, 2009



Yes there was a Burger Chef on Camp Hollow Road in West Mifflin near the County Airport. I spent alot of time there back in the 70’s
Shirley Pavlischak - March 18, 2009



Being an outlander, I don’t have memories of the local burger joints up there. We did have Burger Chefs down here in the DC area back in the day. The one closest to where I live now became an auto transmission shop, and now it’s something else auto-realted. We used to have discussions about the “ultimate” fast food joint. It would be one that served up Burger King burgers (flame-broiled still beats grilling), McDonald’s fries (the original fresh-fried ones), Roy Rogers roast beef sandwichs, KFC chicken, and Dairy Queen shakes.
ebtnut - March 18, 2009



Roving Country Correspondent Prof. Bag O’ Wind reporting for duty, sir. Let’s talk – I mean converse.
Prof. Bag O'Wind - March 18, 2009



I remember the Burger Chef near Circleville fondly. In addition to the Winky’s on Walnut St, I remember the one that was just past Westmoreland Mall. I think it’s a Boston Market or something like that now.
Alycia - March 18, 2009



I vaguely remember some kind of diamond-shaped, multi-colored chandelier that blinked over the counter at the Winkey’s where Auto Zone is now. Does anyone else remember that? I was only 5 when they closed, so I could be wrong.
Thee Dude - March 19, 2009



Anybody Remember Raywell’s Hamburgers downtown at Forbes and Smithfield Streets? How about Donahue’s just down the street and upstairs?
thomas schorr (URL) - June 19, 2010



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