Thanks for wanting to learn more about our featured State from the Pothole in February’s Changing Lanes Newsletter.

According to Louis’ Lunch, the hamburger was created in 1900 in response to a customer’s hurried request for a lunch to go. In 1917, Louis moved the business into a square-shaped little brick building that had once been a tannery. In 1975, the restaurant was moved four blocks down to 263 Crown Street. Hamburgers cooked in the restaurant are made on antique vertical cast iron gas stoves from 1898 and the toast made in an antique toaster from 1928. The hamburgers are a broiled blend of five cuts of steak. Toppings include cheese, tomato or onion, but the restaurant does not offer other condiments. Louis Lassen’s restaurant is recognized in the Library of Congress as the origin of the hamburger, but other claimants and detractors exist.

The burgers are still cooked vertically in these antique cast iron stoves.

Watch the video below to see a very interesting video of Louis Lunch.