Wimpy is the brand name of a chain of fast food restaurants.
Originally called Wimpy Grills, the Wimpy brand was created in 1934 by Edward Gold when he opened his first location in Bloomington, Indiana. The name was inspired by the character of J. Wellington Wimpy from the Popeye cartoons created by E. C. Segar. Although the Wimpy name is most closely identified with the city of Chicago, Gold did not open his first Chicago area location until 2 years later in 1936 and after opening units in five other Midwestern cities. By 1947, the Chicago Tribune reported that the chain had 26 units and expected to sell 8 million hamburgers annually in the Chicago area.
Subject ID: 36224
MoreWimpy is the brand name of a chain of fast food restaurants.
Originally called Wimpy Grills, the Wimpy brand was created in 1934 by Edward Gold when he opened his first location in Bloomington, Indiana. The name was inspired by the character of J. Wellington Wimpy from the Popeye cartoons created by E. C. Segar. Although the Wimpy name is most closely identified with the city of Chicago, Gold did not open his first Chicago area location until 2 years later in 1936 and after opening units in five other Midwestern cities. By 1947, the Chicago Tribune reported that the chain had 26 units and expected to sell 8 million hamburgers annually in the Chicago area.
According to a 1978 Chicago Tribune article, Gold's company Wimpy Grills Inc. of Chicago had a maximum of 25 locations in the United States at its height but only seven locations remained at the time of his death in 1977. According to the Chicago Tribune, when Gold died in 1978, the chain vanished within the United States because no one had purchased the rights and trademark to the Wimpy name from Gold's estate.
Subject ID: 36224
Subject ID: 36224