Arlington has never had a shortage of unique local eateries and for many, one of the most memorable was the Tops Drive Inn on Lee Highway.

Home of the “Sir Loiner,” a double-decker hamburger thought by many to be a forerunner of today’s Big Mac, Tops was founded by businessman James J. Matthews in 1953. The original Tops Drive Inn was a 15-seat facility which included a team of carhops and a machine called the Teletray, enabling drivers to order their food without getting out of the car. The interior featured turquoise-colored phones at the tables for placing your order, and mini-juke boxes for hearing the hits of the day. There were 18 Tops in the DC Metro area before Matthews merged the chain into Gino’s Inc. in 1968.

Some Tops trivia:

• Three of the sandwiches served at Tops were the Sir Loiner, the Jim Dandy, and the Maverick.
• Tops was the original server of Col. Sanders’ Kentucky Fried Chicken in the area, and owner James J. Matthews served on the board of Kentucky Fried Chicken Corporation after Colonel Sanders retired.
• There was once a 15 minute television afternoon weather show sponsored by Tops called “Top Of De Vedder.” The program was hosted by “Professor Felix Von Topsnak,” who used a hand-drawn map of the U.S. on which he’d chart the weather while dressed in an overcoat, top hat and monocle.

Here's a Burger Chef:

A salad bar? What's that?

I see Burger Chef was not a local chain:

Burger Chef was an American fast-food restaurant chain. It began operating in 1954 in Indianapolis, Indiana, expanded throughout the United States, and, at its peak in 1973, had 1,050 locations. The chain featured several signature items, such as the Big Shef and Super Shef hamburgers.

In 1982, the General Foods Corporation, then-owners of the Burger Chef trademark and name, divested itself of the restaurant chain, gradually selling to the owners of Hardee's. The final restaurant to carry the Burger Chef name closed in 1996.

We had a Burger Chef long before we had a McDonald's.

malthaussen

(17,215 posts)

21. Different burger.

Reply to mahatmakanejeeves (Reply #20)

Tue Nov 21, 2017, 11:23 AM

Nov 2017

The BC Sirloiner was the answer to the McDonald's Quarter Pounder. 1/4 of sirloin, allegedly. They were actually dryer than a QP, but they didn't taste bad.

The Quarter Pounder was created in 1971, and went national in 1972, so BC had to think of something to compete.

-- Mal

mahatmakanejeeves

(57,564 posts)

22. Oh, I see. Thanks. NT

Reply to malthaussen (Reply #21)

Tue Nov 21, 2017, 11:41 AM

Nov 2017

benld74

(9,909 posts)

6. Yeah I recall this

Reply to packman (Original post)

Mon Nov 20, 2017, 04:06 PM

Nov 2017

MAny a cheap night ended with JUST enough $$$ for this.

rsdsharp

(9,190 posts)

8. I'm so old that I remember when a hamburger was 15 cents at McDonalds.

Reply to packman (Original post)

Mon Nov 20, 2017, 04:16 PM

Nov 2017

They were 12 cents at Henrys, but I wouldn't want to eat one, even back then.

yagotme

(2,919 posts)

10. And McD's burgers were better,

Reply to rsdsharp (Reply #8)

Mon Nov 20, 2017, 04:53 PM

Nov 2017

although I don't know if that would hold true today...

red dog 1

(27,837 posts)

9. Back in the mid-1970s, there was a burger place in San Francisco that had 10 cent hamburgers

Reply to packman (Original post)

Mon Nov 20, 2017, 04:35 PM

Nov 2017

(They were small..but not bad)

SCantiGOP

(13,871 posts)

11. Before McDonalds

Reply to packman (Original post)

Mon Nov 20, 2017, 04:55 PM

Nov 2017

There was similar place called Kelly's that opened in a larger town about 30 miles from where we lived. We actually had a big family outing one weekend and drove there to eat at a freaking fast-food hamburger joint. I remember clearly, even though I was only about 10 (this would have been early 60s) that they had the price of the hamburgers in huge letters built into the front facade of the building: FIFTEEN CENTS.
I thought it was the best thing I had ever tasted and knew what I would be eating for the rest of my life. And I did until I began to realize how crappy and unhealthy that food was.

Locrian

(4,522 posts)

12. I do remember

Reply to packman (Original post)

Mon Nov 20, 2017, 05:12 PM

Nov 2017

Very interesting trip down memory lane.

FWIW $0.28 in 1972 ? $1.64 in 2017
http://www.in2013dollars.com/1972-dollars-in-2017?amount=0.28

LeftInTX

(25,474 posts)

13. We would hop in the car with our lunch money and go to McDonald's

Reply to packman (Original post)

Mon Nov 20, 2017, 06:38 PM

Nov 2017

My fave was the quarter pounder.
I think it cost 50 cents where I lived.

sarge43

(28,942 posts)

14. I remember when $100 a week was a good wage. n/t

Reply to packman (Original post)

Mon Nov 20, 2017, 09:23 PM

Nov 2017

malthaussen

(17,215 posts)

19. Three bucks an hour!

Reply to sarge43 (Reply #14)

Tue Nov 21, 2017, 11:15 AM

Nov 2017

Everyone in my high school was hoping to get a job making three bucks an hour. Came out to about a hundred a week after taxes.

That was when an E-1 was making about $133.00 a month.

-- Mal

sarge43

(28,942 posts)

23. This E-2 made $98 a month after taxes, etc.

Reply to malthaussen (Reply #19)

Tue Nov 21, 2017, 04:19 PM

Nov 2017

But then, three squares and a flop.

Stuart G

(38,439 posts)

15. Let's put things into perspective..ok??

Reply to packman (Original post)

Mon Nov 20, 2017, 09:39 PM

Nov 2017

In 1971 I bought a stick shift car, for $2100. A person could buy a nice home for $30 -$35,000...Gas was 40cents a gallon. So, if things have gone up 5 times...and we get 5 times more for our pay..then, question..

Can you get a hamburger, fries and a shake for about $5.00?...at Mc Donalds? and I think that the answer is .....YES YOU CAN....................... !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

also: the cost of a postage stamp 8 cents, now 44 cents...8 x 5 = 40

malthaussen

(17,215 posts)

17. Doesn't work for everything, though...

Reply to Stuart G (Reply #15)

Tue Nov 21, 2017, 11:08 AM

Nov 2017

... I've run those numbers many times. Certain commodities have gone up a lot more than five times since 1970. Books are a glaring example: paperbacks, 50 cents, hardbacks a buck fifty. Milk, bread, cigarettes have all gone up more than five times. Examples could be multiplied.

In the case of McDonald's, though, yeah, the price has gone up about five times, or even less. QP with fries and a Coke for $5.50. Although at the little joint down the street, I can get two cheeseburgers, fries, and a Coke for four bucks.

-- Mal

haele

(12,665 posts)

24. Dick's Drive-in, Seattle Washington....

Reply to packman (Original post)

Tue Nov 21, 2017, 05:24 PM

Nov 2017

http://www.ddir.com/

From 5th grade to graduation from High School, the prices were
15 cents for
Hamburger - local ground beef made into patties that day.
Fries
Sodas
Milk

25 cents for
Plain Cheeseburgers
Hot Chocolate
Plain Ice-cream scoop /Ice cream cone
(they had 4 flavors plus a seasonal flavor of real local ice cream they scooped, none of the soft-serve type ice cream...)

30 cents:
Deluxe Cheeseburger
Double scoop Ice Cream cone
Milkshakes (chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, and hot fudge - which I see they don't have anymore)
Ice Cream Sundaes (four flavors - including blackberry, made from locally made blackberry syrup)
Root-Beer Float

Their deluxe cheese burger was similar to an In-n-Out burger.
The only problem with Dick's was that we lived in the University District, and there were none around us at the time. They've always been pretty much a burger/fries/shake sort of place.

There was also the BurgerMaster, which was okay and closer, but they tended to be all over the place in terms of their menus, and tended to be a bit more expensive, so we just stuck to grilled cheese and fries for the most part. Though they did have a killer shake menu that was a great treat.

Haele

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