In a world where McDonald’s circles the globe with over 41,800 locations, regional burger joints — with their limited menus and even more limited restaurant numbers — are tiny by comparison, a mere drop in a bucket, whereas these huge chains are more like a hose spray. Still, people wax nostalgic for the old days, and there is no deeper a cut than Winky’s Hamburgers, established in 1962 and open for business for 20 years before filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Never heard of it? That’s because the chain, founded in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, only spread to two other states: Ohio and West Virginia.
In 1977, at the apex of its operations, Winky’s had 42 restaurants — the last new one opening in downtown Pittsburgh — and could employ over 100 workers at just one location. The chain, which was started by two brothers who began their business enterprise with a meat supply company called Jiffy Steak before expanding to include the fast food element, was actually able to supply its own beef for the burgers.
While it worked for a while, gradually the rise of national burger chains — like McDonald’s — cut into its profits, leading to debts of over $500,000. Winky’s entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February 1982, with a judge approving its plans to repay its creditors a year later.
The menu items that made Winky’s so memorable
While Winky’s might not have been very far-reaching geographically, the short-lived burger chain nonetheless touched thousands who lived near, and were able to eat at, a location from the 1960s through the ’80s. For a small burger chain, Winky’s had a fairly diverse menu — though, of course, the star of the show was its hamburgers, which were advertised for just 15 cents when it got its start. There was also its infamous double-stacker burger, called the Big Wink, which also featured its infamous burger sauce (one wonders where its burgers would rank on the list of best to worst, according to Reddit). There are copycat recipes to be found for those trying to relive the Winky’s experience in their own kitchen, but our guess is, you’ll never beat the original price — just 74 cents for a special that included the Big Wink, french fries, and coleslaw.
But as mentioned, this was no one-note burger chain. Winky’s also served up fish sandwiches and fish dinners (the former were a mere 19 cents each), as well as fried chicken dinners, milkshakes, breakfasts, and even freshly-fried cinnamon sugar donuts. Winky’s was the first fast food chain to sell many of those items in the tri-state area (McDonald’s beat them out on the fish sandwich front, though, with its Filet-O-Fish in 1962).
