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Halo Burger, formerly known by its full name Bill Thomas' Halo Burger, is a fast-food restaurant chain based in Flint, Michigan, USA. Begun in 1923 as the original Kewpee location and separating from the Kewpee chain in 1967 with two locations, the chain has since grown to eleven locations in the region. All but one of these are located in Genesee County.

History

Samuel V. Blair opened Kewpee Hotel restaurant in downtown Flint and expanded to approximately 200 locations by 1939 through licensing the name. In 1933, William "Bill" V. Thomas came to Flint and started working at Kewpee in 1938. Thomas began leasing the Harrison Street, Flint location from Blair upon his retirement on April 1, 1944. Blair died in 1945 and Thomas continued to lease the location and pay royalties for use of the Kewpee name from the estate until the Kewpee trademark and Blair estate owned locations went up for sale in 1958. Thomas was able to purchase the Flint location but the Kewpee trademark was sold to Ed Adams of Toledo, Ohio. Thomas's Flint Kewpee Hamburgs expanded to a second location with the purchase of Vernor’s Ginger Ale building in 1951.

Halo Burger

Adams switched from a trademark license of Kewpee to a full franchising arrangement in 1967. Thomas rejected this new arrangement and changed the name of his restaurants to Bill Thomas' Halo Burger. In 1979, the Harrison location was vacated to make way for University of Michigan-Flint parking. The staff of the former Harrison Street location were transferred to a newly opened Halo Burger serving Flint's east side.

In the early to mid-1980s, Halo Burger expanded to Birch Run, Michigan, with a location that was opened on property leased at Conlee Oil Company's station.

On September 5, 2002, Halo Burger takes over the former Campus Cafe at University of Michigan-Flint University Center. In November, the company recalled flashlights that were given out with kid's meals.

Due to the new student housing and 24-hour food service, Sodexo, that goes along the housing, the University of Michigan-Flint University Center location closed April 21, 2008.

Dortch Enterprises

In 2010, the Thomas family sold the Halo Burger chain to Dortch Enterprises which operates several Subway restaurants in Michigan with the chain transfer to Dortch on December 29, 2010. Dortch will be expanding to new locations and making over of the restaurants towards a "fast-casual feel" with earth tones and "upscale decor". In 2011, the company announced they are adding locations in the Oakland County/Detroit metro area in late 2012 and that they would be adding 2 to 3 locations per year. While Dortch feels that Halo Burger locations would do well in East Lansing with Michigan State University and Ann Arbor with University of Michigan having Flint area university students, plans for opening in those cities have been put on hold.

In June 2011, the Company broke ground for a new 10th location in Grand Blanc Township on Holly Road. Three other sites have been selected for new locations: Fenton, Lapeer and Lapeer Road, Davison. In October the Holly Road location opened. One opened in a gas station in Mount Morris in February 2012.

Menu

• Q.P.: Original called the Kewpee, its name is a phonetic of that name and has been served since 1923 and of its size, a quarter pound hamburger. The burger consisted of flat bottom bun with deluxe toppings (mayo, lettuce, tomato) originally, and now it includes ketchup, mustard, pickle, onion, lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise unless you request it otherwise. This still today remains one of the Halo Burger's most popular sandwiches, especially with olives.

Awards

• 1983 Voted Flint's #1 hamburger by a Flint Journal Newspaper survey
• 2000 Voted Michigan's #1 hamburger by a Detroit News Reader Survey

See also

• Kewpee

References

1. http://www.haloburger.com/index-1.html
2. http://www.mlive.com/business/mid-michigan/index.ssf/2010/12/wife_of_halo_burger_founder_ne.html
3. ^ Fonger, Ron (March 19, 2012). "Halo Burger opens 11th location in Mt. Morris Township". Flint Journal. Retrieved 20 March 2012.
4. "Contact Us". dortchenterprises.com. Dortch Enterprises, LLC. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
5. ^ Rauschert, Jeff (01/03/2011). "New owner says Halo Burger will stay the same". NBC 25 News. Retrieved 3 June 2011. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
6. ^ Rauschert, Jeff (12.28.2010). "Halo Burger to be sold by Thomas family to Dortch Enterprises". NBC 25 News. Retrieved 3 June 2011. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
7. ^ Gary Flinn (2004-05-21). "A Tasty Part of Flint History". Flinn's Journal. Gary Flinn. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
8. ^ Christy Ryan (2008-04-21). "Halo Burger reluctant to leave in fall" (shtml). Michigan Times. Flint, Michigan: University of Michigan-Flint. Retrieved 2008-06-02.
9. "History". About Us. Conlee Oil Company. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
10. Abercrombie, Shena (2002-06-10). "With Halo Burger on campus no excuse for hungry students". The Flint Journal. Archived from the original on 2002-06-10. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
11. Vaughn, Marlon (2002-11-16). "Halo Burger kids meal flashlights recalled". The Flint Journal. Archived from the original on 2002-11-16. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
12. Turner, Kris (January 23, 2011). "Halo Burger could expand to Lapeer, Fenton or Davison this year". Flint Journal. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
13. ^ Turner, Kris (January 4, 2011). "New Halo Burger owner keeps old staples, plans for more locations in Genesee County". The Flint Journal. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
14. Yung, Katherine (June 2, 2011). "Flint's Halo Burger chain to debut in metro Detroit in '12". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
15. Rabinowitz, Nyssa (June 22, 2011). "New Halo Burger breaks ground in Grand Blanc Township". Flint Journal. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
16. Rabinowitz, Nyssa (June 23, 2011). "New Halo Burger brings jobs to Grand Blanc, will continue to expand". Flint Journal. Retrieved 3 January 2012.
17. "A new Halo". Grand Blanc View. 2011-11-17. Retrieved 3 January 2012.
18. "Number 1". Flint Journal. Flint, Michigan: Booth Newspapers. 1984-02-07. p. C1. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Unknown parameter |curly= ignored (help)
19. ^ Dave. "Restaurants of Interest". Cuisine, A Semi-Exhaustive Guide. Frog Leg Productions. Retrieved 2008-06-02.

External links

• Halo Burger's official web site
• Halo Burger's Facebook page
• Dortch Enterprises - Parent company's official site
• A Tasty Part of Flint History--The former Vernor's outlet in Flint, MI, now Halo Burger
• Explain history at Kewpee's site

• Fast-food chains of the United States
• Regional restaurant chains in the United States
• Fast-food hamburger restaurants
• Flint, Michigan
• Restaurants in Michigan
• Restaurants established in 1923