Burger King or Burger King? That is the question.

I made a quick reference to Burger King in an earlier post and have had a few questions arise because of it...mostly from our out of town viewers.

My hometown, Mattoon, Illinois, the home of the Green Wave and WLBH radio is also home to the original Burger King. This is not the chain "Whopper" Burger King. As mentioned in an earlier comment, this Burger King was owned by Gene & Betty Hoots (who also owned another restaurant in town called "Hoots Haus"). Instead of Whoppers we had Hooters. Honestly, I didn't eat a whopper until I was in my teens on an out of town road trip. Burger King was THE hangout for my generation of teens due to it's close proximity of the Time and Keresotes (sp?) theatres in downtown Matoon. When I played third base for Walt's Camera Shop in Jaycee League Baseball, it was Burger King that we went to after every game for an ice cream cone and if you hit a home run, you got a banana split.

This was not a small matter...especially to the Hoots family. They spent plenty of money on lawyers and court fees fighting the corporate burger giant. Here is a copy of the judgement that was handed down that allowed the original Burger King to keep it's name and banned the Whopper boys from opening up a store within a missle shot of Mattoon. Credit the Hoots family with having the courage to take on the King. They won and I am told that this case is reviewed in many business law classes on University campuses across this country.

There you go folks. It's true. Hooters....not Whoppers in Mattoon. (that might make a good T-shirt)

I hope this clears things up a little and HOOTERS FOR EVERYONE!