The California Roadside Stand Some Credit With Inventing The Very First Cheeseburger

We invite you to imagine a burger. (Us Americans will have plenty of practice.) What do you imagine on that burger? A bright red slice of juicy tomato? An elegant sheaf of lettuce sprawled out over the patty? Before you imagine either of those things, you're probably picturing gooey, melty yellow cheese oozing down the sides, aren't you? It's okay, we don't judge. But did you know that hamburgers weren't always topped with cheese? Some say the practice began in 1924, when the proprietors of a Pasadena, California burger shack called The Rite Spot draped their patties in liquid gold.

The Rite Spot was one of the many roadside diners and eateries that lined Route 66 in its heyday. (Today, the road it was located on is called Colorado Boulevard.) It was operated by one H.S. Sternberger (who was originally from San Diego) and his two teenage sons, Lionel and Van. It was Lionel who allegedly invented the cheeseburger at the age of sixteen, although the story diverges somewhat from there. Some say that young Lionel simply placed a slice of cheese atop a cooking patty on a whim; others say that it was an accident, intended to cover up a burnt hamburger. (There are a ton of serendipitous origin stories for foods invented by accident, although not all of them are true; the potato chip, for instance, was not the result of a disgruntled chef seeking petty revenge.) Whatever the case, The Rite Spot began selling "The Aristocratic Burger" with cheese, and it only grew more popular from there.

Anyone who's studied their food history will tell you that it's not always easy to determine exactly who first invented a given dish. It's often the case, as with the 19th-century origins of the onion ring, that several different people came up with the idea independently without being aware that it had already been written down a century prior. So, even though a plaque was put up near the site of The Rite Spot proclaiming it the birthplace of the cheeseburger, it's not 100% clear that's the case.

With that said, The Rite Spot has a sturdier claim than some of its competitors. A Louisville, Kentucky joint called Kaelin's Restaurant said that it invented the cheeseburger in 1934. Meanwhile, Louis Ballast, who owned the Humpty Dumpty Diner in Denver, Colorado, acquired the trademark for "cheeseburger" in 1935. Careful readers, however, will note that 1924 came 10 years before 1934, meaning the Sternbergers may have beaten both Kaelin and Ballast to the punch. (To say nothing of Steak n' Shake founder Gus Belt, who tried and failed to copyright the word "cheeseburger" in 1930.) No matter who invented it, we owe them a debt of gratitude for as long as grease and melted cheese drips down our fingers.