Whatever Happened To The Burger Queen Fast Food Chain?

The Golden Arches and the home of the mighty Whopper have a storied history in the fast food world dating back to the mid-1950s. But as with most things in history, people often overlook the queen.

There was once a chain of fast food restaurants called Burger Queen that got its start in Florida, expanded to Kentucky, and eventually went global. However, a series of business deals, trademark issues, and some cultural sensitivity led to Burger Queen losing her crown to become Druther's in the United States and Huckleberry's across the pond. Eventually the chain of Druther's restaurants was bought out by Dairy Queen and the majority of Druther's locations were converted into Dairy Queens. (How Dairy Queen burgers compare to Druther's remains a mystery.)

While Burger Queen's official reign only lasted from 1956 to 1980, the brand's legacy of burgers, shakes, fish dinners, and self-service salad bars lived on under multiple banners until 1990. As of today, only one independent Druther's restaurant still stands in Kentucky.

The first Burger Queen was opened in 1956 by Harold and Helen Kite. Helen led the restaurant while Harold handled the business side of Burger Queen. As the brand began to franchise and expand, it eventually adopted a new logo and official mascot by the name of "Queenie Bee."

The Burger Queen kingdom continued to grow from Florida to Missouri to Canada and even overseas in Taiwan and the United Kingdom. Unfortunately, the brand's overseas ventures hit some challenges along the way when it struggled to get trademark licensing in the U.K.

Plus, business advisers in the U.K. suggested that Burger Queen change its name out of respect for the country's royalty. The burger chain became Huckleberry's in the U.K., using a Huck Finn-looking character with a fishing pole for the logo. At its peak, Burger Queen had more than 200 locations in the U.S. alone.

A large part of the reason Burger Queen eventually became Druther's (and finally, Dairy Queen) was because of trademark issues and confusion with the brand. At its start, Burger Queen found itself in a legal battle with Burger King in Florida. Burger King purchased the trademark for Burger Queen in Florida in 1966, which prevented the chain from expanding in that state until 1976 when it bought the trademark back. There was also confusion overseas with the Burger King versus Burger Queen branding which also played a role in why Burger Queen changed to Huckleberry's in the U.K.

On top of that, Dairy Queen also brought a lawsuit against Burger Queen for its use of the word 'queen' in its advertisements. The legal battle started in 1970 and was resolved quickly, creating an amicable relationship between the two companies. At a certain point, Burger Queen decided it wanted to be recognized for more than just burgers and fries (particularly its salad bar), so by 1980 the official transition to Druther's was rolled out.

Finally, in 1990, Dairy Queen bought the chain and converted all of the now Druther's locations into Dairy Queen restaurants, though some restaurants couldn't be converted due to their proximity to already existing Dairy Queens. The restaurants that couldn't be converted were given the option to stay open as independent Druther's restaurants with different licensing agreements. The lone Druther's restaurant that still stands in Kentucky was allowed to remain because of this agreement.