The History of Cheeseburgers

It’s National Cheeseburger Day, so we are taking a look at the history behind one of America’s most iconic foods! The earliest recorded instance of a cheeseburger being served happened in 1924 at the Rite Spot in Pasadena, California. The story goes that a young man named Lionel Sternberger was working at his father’s roadside stand when he burned one side of a burger. He reacted by topping the burger with cheese (either to cover his error or because a customer had asked for as much as he could get for 15¢). The cheeseburger became a regular fixture on the Rite Spot’s menu; it was called the "Aristocratic Hamburger: The Original Hamburger with Cheese." There are some challenges to Rite Spot’s title as creator of the first commercially sold cheeseburger, such as Kaelin’s in Louisville, Kentucky, but for the most part, credit is given to the Rite Spot. The city of Pasadena even put a commemorative plaque at the spot where the Rite Spot once stood! Today, cheeseburgers continue to be extremely popular. The record for the biggest one ever made? In 2017, Mallie's Sports Grill & Bar cooked a massive cheeseburger that weighed nearly 1,800 pounds and measured about 30 inches tall and around 6 feet wide!