# Anyone remember: 60s hamburger place with "Papa Bear, Mama Bear, Baby Bear" burgers? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 1, 2019, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remember-60s-hamburger-place-with-papa-bear-mama-bear-baby-bear-burgers/842863 "2019-11-01T17:59:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2019, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remember-60s-hamburger-place-with-papa-bear-mama-bear-baby-bear-burgers/842863/1 "2019-11-01T17:59:42Z")
A couple of times as a kid in the 60s I visited Texas and we ate at a hamburger place with “Papa Bear, Mama Bear, Baby Bear” burgers in different sizes. I have no memory of the restaurant name and googllng doesn’t bring anything up. I do remember paper napkins with the bears printed on them. This thread [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=884699](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=884699) with its reference to A&W and its Papa, Mama and Baby burgers made me wonder whether the Papa Bear was an A&W knockoff? [https://www.google.com/search?q=A%26W.+Mama,+Papa+and+Baby+burgers&rlz=1CAJFEX\_enUS828US828&sxsrf=ACYBGNRUFbTltnFPdBQ9uQ1eb7L33KmyfQ:1572566012897&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=W9fH1iSIjkI3yM%253A%252Cc3Nh4bnbe-XRrM%252C\_&vet=1&usg=AI4\_-kQyNEMVCZ6YhPvbkaUFEBx-BkDWHw&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiumtb02MflAhVhleAKHcudDbkQ9QEwCnoECAUQBg#imgrc=W9fH1iSIjkI3yM:](https://www.google.com/search?q=A%26W.+Mama,+Papa+and+Baby+burgers&rlz=1CAJFEX_enUS828US828&sxsrf=ACYBGNRUFbTltnFPdBQ9uQ1eb7L33KmyfQ:1572566012897&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=W9fH1iSIjkI3yM%253A%252Cc3Nh4bnbe-XRrM%252C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kQyNEMVCZ6YhPvbkaUFEBx-BkDWHw&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiumtb02MflAhVhleAKHcudDbkQ9QEwCnoECAUQBg#imgrc=W9fH1iSIjkI3yM:) ---
**Author:** ![allyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ec9cab/32.png) [@allyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/allyn)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2019, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remember-60s-hamburger-place-with-papa-bear-mama-bear-baby-bear-burgers/842863/2 "2019-11-01T18:15:28Z")
Looks like they were the mascots of A&W at one time: > **[A&W Restaurants | Mascots](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A%26W_Restaurants#Mascots)** > > In the 1960s, a character named Chubby Chicken appeared on all Chubby burgers. > In 1963, A&W introduced four choices of hamburgers and their corresponding Burger Family members: Papa Burger, Mama Burger, Teen Burger, and Baby Burger. Each burger had a wrapper featuring a cartoon image of the corresponding character. > Rooty, the Great American Root Bear, originated in Canada in 1974 as a counter to the Ronald McDonald character of McDonald's and first appeared in the United States in 1976. However... ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2019, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remember-60s-hamburger-place-with-papa-bear-mama-bear-baby-bear-burgers/842863/3 "2019-11-01T18:21:58Z")
I can confirm that it was A&W from personal experience. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2019, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remember-60s-hamburger-place-with-papa-bear-mama-bear-baby-bear-burgers/842863/4 "2019-11-01T18:34:53Z")
I loved going to A&W. I remember the pride I felt when I finally graduated to the Papa Bear burger. But best of all was the root beer in the frosty mug. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2019, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remember-60s-hamburger-place-with-papa-bear-mama-bear-baby-bear-burgers/842863/5 "2019-11-01T18:37:44Z")
Refilling the gallon jugs at the drive-up every Friday. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2019, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remember-60s-hamburger-place-with-papa-bear-mama-bear-baby-bear-burgers/842863/6 "2019-11-01T18:42:06Z")
And taking the gallon jugs with a heckuva lot of popcorn to the Drive-In Theater. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2019, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remember-60s-hamburger-place-with-papa-bear-mama-bear-baby-bear-burgers/842863/7 "2019-11-01T18:42:38Z")
In the Chicago area, we had the Golden Bear restaurants with a Mama, Papa, Baby bear theme. Don’t know if they reached Texas or were just regional. You can see their menu here: [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/7446/13889786356_6244e65b7e_b.jpg "1974 Golden Bear Family Restaurants Menu") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/25692985@N07/13889786356/) ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2019, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remember-60s-hamburger-place-with-papa-bear-mama-bear-baby-bear-burgers/842863/8 "2019-11-01T19:10:21Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > In the Chicago area, we had the Golden Bear restaurants with a Mama, Papa, Baby bear theme. Don’t know if they reached Texas or were just regional. You can see their menu here: > [1974 Golden Bear Family Restaurants Menu | Gregg Koenig | Flickr](https://www.flickr.com/photos/25692985@N07/13889786356/) A lot of info about the Golden Bear chain at the [Forgotten Chicago Forum.](https://forgottenchicago.com/forum/read.php?1,4970) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2019, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remember-60s-hamburger-place-with-papa-bear-mama-bear-baby-bear-burgers/842863/9 "2019-11-01T19:10:39Z")
Didn’t A&W have a barbecued beef sandwich? I remember eating those with their root beer when I was a little kid. They were great! I’ve eaten at A&W only a couple of times in the last 40 years. Do they still make the barbecued beef sandwich? ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2019, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remember-60s-hamburger-place-with-papa-bear-mama-bear-baby-bear-burgers/842863/10 "2019-11-01T19:21:44Z")
A&W had Mamma burger, Poppa Burger, Baby burger and Teen burger but no “bear” in the names. There was the Root-bear mascot but that was later as I recall. The [burger family](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A%26W_(Canada)#The_Burger_Family) has been resurrected, at least in Canada, as a kinda nostalgia thing. If the OP really remembers a bear family, that could be one of the outfits mentioned upthread. Has A&W declined in the US?. In the drive-in restaurant thread, people are talking as if it has become rare. Let’s all go to A&W Food’s more fun at A&W Have a mug of root beer, or maybe two or three Pick the perfect burger from the Burger Family Let’s all go to A&W Food’s more fun at A&W Hop in the car Come as you are… To A&W ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2019, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remember-60s-hamburger-place-with-papa-bear-mama-bear-baby-bear-burgers/842863/11 "2019-11-01T19:44:02Z")
> [@74westy](#): > > A&W had Mamma burger, Poppa Burger, Baby burger and Teen burger but no “bear” in the names. There was the Root-bear mascot but that was later as I recall. The [burger family](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A%26W_(Canada)#The_Burger_Family) has been resurrected, at least in Canada, as a kinda nostalgia thing. > > If the OP really remembers a bear family, that could be one of the outfits mentioned upthread. > > Has A&W declined in the US?. In the drive-in restaurant thread, people are talking as if it has become rare. > > Let’s all go to A&W > Food’s more fun at A&W > Have a mug of root beer, or maybe two or three > Pick the perfect burger from the Burger Family > Let’s all go to A&W > Food’s more fun at A&W > Hop in the car > Come as you are… > To A&W That’s how I remember it. Loved me some A&W and also Arctic Circle, neither of which are seen much these days unless you’re in Utah or Idaho (for AC). Only 3 A&Ws in the Portland area. We used to cruise “the gut” in Anchorage, drinking root beer out of the quart cone-shaped containers. I’m actually surprised that either franchise is still able to compete with McD or the others. Perhaps they’ve gone on the cheap with ingredients like the big guys in order to keep their doors open. ---
**Author:** ![Disheavel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@Disheavel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disheavel)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2019, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remember-60s-hamburger-place-with-papa-bear-mama-bear-baby-bear-burgers/842863/12 "2019-11-01T20:54:00Z")
A&W is doing much better in Canada these days… And I just had an extra large “Uncle” sized burger so the tradition and thought is still in the company somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2019, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remember-60s-hamburger-place-with-papa-bear-mama-bear-baby-bear-burgers/842863/13 "2019-11-01T21:56:38Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > In the Chicago area, we had the Golden Bear restaurants with a Mama, Papa, Baby bear theme. Don’t know if they reached Texas or were just regional. You can see their menu here: > [1974 Golden Bear Family Restaurants Menu | Gregg Koenig | Flickr](https://www.flickr.com/photos/25692985@N07/13889786356/) It’s hard to see, but I think that menu has a “Papa Golden Bear burger” but not a Mama Bear or Baby Bear Burger. Although maybe there was a kids’ menu? I remember eating at Golden Bear as a kid (the Springfield, IL location, mentioned in **Czarcasm** ’s link). I almost always got pancakes. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2019, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remember-60s-hamburger-place-with-papa-bear-mama-bear-baby-bear-burgers/842863/14 "2019-11-01T22:13:45Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > I loved going to A&W. I remember the pride I felt when I finally graduated to the Papa Bear burger. But best of all was the root beer in the frosty mug. Anyone remember trying to drink out of the [quart-size “megaphones”](https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-root-beer-cone-1878054779)?.. impossible without getting a face-full at some point. I’m sure they thought we’d be genteelly pouring it into frosty mugs, but we couldn’t resist pulling [the waxed paper seal](https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/antique-advertising-root-beer-cone-515216467) off the end (yes, you drank out of the small end), and tipping it up until we got a tidal wave of root beer all over our chins and shirts. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2019, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remember-60s-hamburger-place-with-papa-bear-mama-bear-baby-bear-burgers/842863/15 "2019-11-02T01:06:48Z")
> [@Disheavel](#): > > A&W is doing much better in Canada these days… And I just had an extra large “Uncle” sized burger so the tradition and thought is still in the company somewhere. A&W Canada is now entirely separate from A&W US. They have joint rights to the trademarks and things like the burger family, but they’re a going concern here. Have gone all-in on no hormone meat, locally sourced wheat, etc. They’ve been steadily tearing down the dilapidated 80s style restaurants in my area and building sleek new ones. Their burgers and fries are way better than MickeyD’s. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2019, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remember-60s-hamburger-place-with-papa-bear-mama-bear-baby-bear-burgers/842863/16 "2019-11-02T02:18:45Z")
Last standalone, car service A&W hereabouts closed several years ago, leaving only those co-located with KFC. I believe they have a Papa burger, but not the others. Random memory from the '60s: another standalone A&W, which was demolished to make way for a (non-interstellar) bypass, had fries that were made from some sort of potato paste which was extruded directly into the deep fryer. At any rate, they had a distinctly odd texture. Anyone else recall something similar? ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2019, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remember-60s-hamburger-place-with-papa-bear-mama-bear-baby-bear-burgers/842863/17 "2019-11-02T02:18:53Z")
A&W is frequently co-located with KFC restaurants. I’ve seen them in both Oregon and CA. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2019, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remember-60s-hamburger-place-with-papa-bear-mama-bear-baby-bear-burgers/842863/18 "2019-11-02T02:28:02Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > A&W is frequently co-located with KFC restaurants. I’ve seen them in both Oregon and CA. In the US, A&W was owned by Yum! (which also owns KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut) from 2002 until 2011. Yum! (which, at that point, was called Tricon) bought a company called Yorkshire Global Restaurants in 2002, and thus obtained both A&W and Long John Silvers. In the years that followed, Yum! created a lot of co-located restaurants like that, with various permutations of the five chains that they owned. In 2011, Yum! sold off A&W and Long John Silvers, to different buyer groups. I suspect that any A&Ws which still share a restaurant with a Yum! brand are remnants of the era when Yum! owned A&W. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2019, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remember-60s-hamburger-place-with-papa-bear-mama-bear-baby-bear-burgers/842863/19 "2019-11-02T02:37:38Z")
A&W’s are easy to find in Montreal. There’s one about 100 meters from where I’m sitting right now. I have vague childhood memories of visiting one in the suburbs west of the city circa 1974. They had carhops on roller skates. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2019, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remember-60s-hamburger-place-with-papa-bear-mama-bear-baby-bear-burgers/842863/20 "2019-11-02T15:01:11Z")
Golden Bear! Golden Bear! A honey of a place (of a place) Where food is fun! Golden Bear! Their song was on their napkins, along with the music. Never heard it played, but we sang it when drunk and dining there. Ah, the 70’s. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-remember-60s-hamburger-place-with-papa-bear-mama-bear-baby-bear-burgers/842863.md?page=2)