Wimpy Bender 16p; Wimpy Cheeseburger, 21p; and Wimpy Kingsley, 31p
Before McDonald Burger King, the go-to burger joint in the UK was Wimpy.
The
brand originated in Bloomington, USA, in 1932, and the first restaurant
in Britain, serving the first ever hamburger-based meal in this
country, opened at Lyons Corner House in London in 1954.
By
1970, Wimpy was a global favorite and there were more than 1,000
outlets in 23 countries around the world - including many dotted around
Newcastle, Resident and the North East.
Our retro menu takes us back to Wimpy apes heyday.
Check
out some of the tasty favourites and crazy prices from the era: Wimpy
Burger 16p; Wimpy Cheeseburger, 21p; and Wimpy Kingsley, 31p.
And
what about the meals? A Wimpy Grill sold at 36p; a Wimpy Special Grill
was 41p; and the top of the range Wimpy International, including steak
and all the trimmings, was 51p.
One item on the menu which folk
might especially remember was the Wimpy Bender - a wonderfully spicy
sausage curled around half a tomato.
Elsewhere, a Whippsy - the brands own milkshake - was 17p, while a Knickerbocker glory could be yours for 25p.
Its
worth remembering, of course, if these prices seem ludicrously
inexpensive, in 1976 the average weekly wage was £70 for a man and £45
for a woman.
Around Tyneside, a number of popular Wimpy bars traded over the years.
In
Newcastle there were outlets, at various times, on Northumberland
Street, Newgate Street, St Marys Place, at Bowers;
Gunner House restaurant on Pink Lane, and in Eldon Square.
In
May 1973, when the St Marys Place outlet opened, the Chronicle
noted: "The Wimpy business in Britain is booming.
Since
Wimpy was introduced in 1954, more than 600 Wimpy bars have opened up
and down the country - and new bars are opening at the rate of one a
week.
In 1974, there was a new kid on the UK fast food block -
the American giant McDonald's, with the brand reaching the
North East in the mid 1980s.
Crucially, McDonalds sold
their burgers and fries over the counter, and Wimpy which employed
traditional table service was forced to change tack.
Later, the arrival of Burger King provided another major competitor and the number of Wimpys in the UK gradually decreased.
In June 2002, the Chronicle reported that Newcastle's last Wimpy on Newgate Street had closed unexpectedly.
Today
there are 64 Wimpy locations around the UK - including 16 in London -
with the closest being the Huddersfield branch in West Yorkshire.
For
more Chronicle nostalgia, including archive pictures and local history
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Gatecrasher man entered the station and gratified a number of panels and station furniture, say cops.
