Before Dunkin’ became known for coffee and doughnuts, its founder made an unexpected move into fast food, building a burger chain around a popular television puppet.
William Rosenberg, who started Dunkin’ Donuts, opened Howdy Beef N’ Burger in New England in 1961. The chain eventually grew to around 30 restaurants, with some operating alongside Dunkin’ locations. It was first called Howdy Beefburger before its name was changed.
The restaurant took its name and mascot from Howdy Doody, the cowboy marionette who starred in an NBC children’s show that ran from 1947 to 1960. The program mixed songs and skits featuring puppets and human performers, with children in the studio audience known as the “peanut gallery.”
Howdy’s menu went well beyond burgers and fries. It featured a signature Big “B” burger, along with roast beef sandwiches, fried chicken and milkshakes. New England favorites such as clam strips, chowder and lobster rolls were on offer, too.
The chain played up its family-friendly image with deals and giveaways. One Boston Globe advertisement promised families could eat there for “just pocket change,” and the restaurants offered children prizes and buttons.
But Howdy had to contend with competition from McDonald’s, while Rosenberg’s company was also running other businesses, including seafood, pancake and deli ventures. After his son Robert became company president in 1963, he began steering the business toward Dunkin’ Donuts.
Dunkin’ continued to expand, while Howdy’s restaurants gradually disappeared or were sold to other chains. A location in Quincy, Massachusetts, became a Wendy’s in 1979. By the 1980s, the burger chain had largely vanished.
These days, Howdy Beef N’ Burger mostly lives on through old advertisements, collectibles and the memories of former customers.
Howdy Doody wasn’t the only fictional character to inspire a restaurant. Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. takes its theme from the 1994 film “Forrest Gump,” while Central Perk Coffee Co. recreates the café from “Friends.” Tony Soprano’s, an East Coast pizza chain, draws on “The Sopranos.”
