Blake's Lotaburger (often shortened to either Blake's or Lotaburger) is a New Mexico fast food chain based in Albuquerque that consists of over 76 stores as of 2009.[1]
All Lotaburger stores are company-owned. Blake's Lotaburger also owns the majority of the property that its stores are built on, with the stores being built by the company construction division. Blake's owns and operates its own sheet metal shop, refrigeration shop, cabinet shop, vehicle shop, maintenance fleet, and commissary.
Despite some modernization, the food at Lotaburger is still cooked to order, causing what is considered slow service in today's world.
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Blake's Lotaburger was founded by Blake Chanslor, a native of Texas who moved to Albuquerque after World War II.[2] With an initial investment of $5,300 USD, Chanslor opened a 230-square-foot (21 m2) "Lota Burger" hamburger stand on July 9, 1952. It was located at the corner of San Mateo and Southern in southeast Albuquerque. The venture proved successful, and Chanslor opened two more stores in 1953.[3][4]
Since then, Lotaburger has expanded across New Mexico with locations in 23 cities. Albuquerque still contains the greatest number of Lotaburger stores, with a total of 35. As of 2009, the chain has 76 stores in total. Chanslor remained the owner of the chain until 2003, when he sold his interest in the venture [5] to the father-and-son team of Ronald C. Rule and Brian Rule. The restaurants are now known as Blake’s Lotaburger.
During the 1990s, most Lotaburger television advertisements featured the Ernest P. Worrell character, played by Jim Varney. The oldest active Lotaburger is Store #2 in Albuquerque, which was founded in 1953. The original Blake's stand on San Mateo is still in existence but no longer houses a Lotaburger.
Many give credit to Blake’s Lotaburger for introducing green chiles to the hamburger.[6] In the early years the owners at Blake’s noticed that people used to come in and order their hamburgers and then put their own green chilies on them. They said that they “finally caught on and decided to go with it”.[4] As one of the first to “catch on” hamburgers at Blake’s quickly became a hit and today Blake’s has been recognized by National Geographic for the “Best Green Chile Cheeseburger in the World".[7]
Green Chile is served on Blake’s hamburgers if requested and is an “added extra” to any of the menu items. A special green and red sauce are made from New Mexico Green Chile and can be added to the Breakfast Burritos. Green Chile is perhaps the defining ingredient of New Mexican food compared to neighboring styles.[4]
Blake's Lotaburger is a long-time supporter of the Special Olympics in New Mexico.[8]
In 2008, Rule donated $10,000 to support Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in California.[9] Boycotts of the restaurant by gay marriage activists were planned.[10]
In 2009, Blake's Lotaburger was named for "Best Burger" and "Best French Fries" in the Weekly Alibi.[11]
The New Mexico Tourism Department features Blake’s Lotaburger as one of the state's destinations on the Green Chili Cheeseburger Trail.[12]
Blake's was featured among flavorful hot spots for green chili cheeseburgers in the Las Cruces Sun–News.[13]
Lotatrouble Burger Pit Stop Lands Rail Runner Workers in Hot Water.[14]
Blake's celebrates 58th birthday as thousands waited in line Friday to get a free original Blake's Lotaburger Combo — a burger, bag of chips and a drink — at the original location.[15]
Blake’s Lotaburger was invited to provide Lotaburger Combo Meals to the Petry family as their family gathered together for a home town welcome. On July 12th President Obama awarded the Medal of Honor to Sergeant First Class Leroy Petry, a Santa Fe New Mexico native. Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Arthur Petry is one of two living recipients of the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War. The State Parade honoring Sargent Petry started at 11:45 August 1st in Santa Fe, NM. The State Police had reserved 3 metered spaces next to the Federal Building for the Blake’s Catering Truck. KOAT 7 News included Blake's Lotaburger on the following news shows: 8/1 at 5pm, 6pm, 10pm and 8/2 at 5am, 5:30, 6am. 6:30am.[16]
Blake's Lotaburger takes top honors in Albuquerque the Magazine September 2011 issue. The article starts out "It may take a minute or two to get a Blake's Breakfast Burrito but that's because cooks don't start making it until you order it" ( p 138).[17]
Blake's signature menu item is the Lotaburger, which is especially popular with cheese and green chile added.[18] Other offerings include the smaller Itsaburger as well as hot dogs, corn dogs, cheese dogs, chili dogs, cheese chili dogs, chili bowls and chili pie. Sandwiches include breaded chicken, turkey breast, barbecue beef and Halibut fish. Also offered are chicken tenders with barbecue sauce or ranch dressing, fries, seasoned fry, chili cheese fry, onion rings, and milkshakes. Brownies were recently added.
Some Lotaburger stores also have a breakfast menu which includes breakfast sandwiches and several types of breakfast burritos. Fresh eggs are used in the breakfast sandwiches and the burritos and the customer can choose between Blake’s special red or green sauce.
Blake’s full menu is available for onsite catering events. In addition to the regular menu, Blake’s Lotaburger catering offers fruit platters, scrambled eggs, French toast, pancakes or just about anything the customer requests. All of the food is made onsite (Breakfast burritos can be pre-made if requested).[4]
Blake's stores feature a red and white color scheme, and older stores often have an outdoor seating area with red and white striped umbrellas. A few of the earliest Lotaburger stores were walk-up stands with outdoor tables only, but the majority have an inside seating area. Most newer stores also have a drive-through. The traditional signage out front is the "Blake's Man", a 10-to-15-foot-tall (3.0 to 4.6 m) man with blue poles for legs, a white and red striped jacket, and a blue hat and bowtie. He holds a sign bearing the Blake's name.