It reminds me of supermacs in Ireland. People love it there but I never did. Their burgers are clammy, bread that falls apart (like burger king's). And dried out pizza slices (under a heat lamp too long) from their subsidiary Papa Joe's.
I've never had a nice meal there. I did eat there sometimes after drinking because they stayed open longer than Mc Donalds. But even drunk I would be disappointed with the food.
For anyone nostalgic there is still a Wimpy's burger in Wodonga (Victoria, Australia), I was driving through there last week, and was amazed to see it. It was a good burger and very cheap ($8AUD)
Wimpy was not alone, before McDonald's franchises were commonly available in the UK, there were many burger shops that sometimes operated as a small chain.
One survivor is Burger Star (best by far), which is now down to a single location, down from their peak of about four locations.
When McDonald's was not everywhere it was quite easy for local shops to offer an American dining experience because most people had never been to the USA or McDonald's. It was cultural appropriation of sorts. In the 1980s everything American was awesome in the imagination of British people, exactly like the movies with Disney theme parks as the ultimate. In these times anything American was more sophisticated, whether it was 501 Levis, Nike shoes, water beds and much else that we stereotyped.
Wimpy made no claim to be faux American, it was definitely very British. So I don't see a battle of the burgers. Wimpy went the way of Little Chef, another British food chain that just got stuck in the past. People just didn't want that sit down, waited on experience any more, they wanted take out, which was not something Wimpy was known for.
There are still a couple of locations around the UK: https://location.wimpy.uk.com/
It's also going strong in South Africa: https://locations.wimpy.co.za/
Wimpy has 61 locations in the UK as of April 2025
It reminds me of supermacs in Ireland. People love it there but I never did. Their burgers are clammy, bread that falls apart (like burger king's). And dried out pizza slices (under a heat lamp too long) from their subsidiary Papa Joe's.
I've never had a nice meal there. I did eat there sometimes after drinking because they stayed open longer than Mc Donalds. But even drunk I would be disappointed with the food.
For anyone nostalgic there is still a Wimpy's burger in Wodonga (Victoria, Australia), I was driving through there last week, and was amazed to see it. It was a good burger and very cheap ($8AUD)
Wimpy was not alone, before McDonald's franchises were commonly available in the UK, there were many burger shops that sometimes operated as a small chain.
One survivor is Burger Star (best by far), which is now down to a single location, down from their peak of about four locations.
When McDonald's was not everywhere it was quite easy for local shops to offer an American dining experience because most people had never been to the USA or McDonald's. It was cultural appropriation of sorts. In the 1980s everything American was awesome in the imagination of British people, exactly like the movies with Disney theme parks as the ultimate. In these times anything American was more sophisticated, whether it was 501 Levis, Nike shoes, water beds and much else that we stereotyped.
Wimpy made no claim to be faux American, it was definitely very British. So I don't see a battle of the burgers. Wimpy went the way of Little Chef, another British food chain that just got stuck in the past. People just didn't want that sit down, waited on experience any more, they wanted take out, which was not something Wimpy was known for.
>People just didn't want that sit down, waited on experience any more, they wanted take out,
They actually wanted "take away", being British and all ;)
> "Wimpy went the way of Little Chef"
Not quite. Little Chef is long gone, but there's still quite a few Wimpys dotted around the country.
I remember eating at The Great American Disaster, in London, in 1973, when I lived in the West End.
It was my favorite restaurant.
Wimpy’s was … wimpy.
I don’t remember McDonald’s at all. The first one I saw, was in the US.
I remember Wimpy from my school days. I have never, and probably will never, eat anything as monstrous as Wimpy's Bender in a bun with cheese.
McDonald's will never replace Wimpy in my heart
As long as you guys don't try to claim you invented the burger, as you do the sandwich, we're all good.
(Spent a few weeks in the UK maybe 10 years ago. Stayed at The Earl of Sandwich's mansion now a hotel.
Tales of his exploits o'sandwich creation abounded.
I wonder how true that is. Bread is from all ages. I'm sure people figured out you could put stuff in between before :)
Shhh, the Ghost of Sandwich may hear you.
"I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today."