Hidden Figures: Lovie Yancey #BlackHERstoryMonth 5/28 (Patreon)

Hidden Figures: Lovie Yancey #BlackHERstoryMonth 5/28

If you enjoy my work, please consider supporting! CashApp: $SerenSensei Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/seren_sensei All Patrons get access to the Discord server! NEW MERCH SHOP: https://the-bheezebake-project.creator-spring.com Lovie Yancey (January 3, 1912 – January 26, 2008) was the Black American founder of the Fatburger restaurant chain in Los Angeles, California. Born in the rural town of Bastrop, Texas, Yancey was a cook who owned and operated a restaurant in Tucson, Arizona. In 1931, she welcomed a daughter, and soon after moved further west to Los Angeles for more opportunity. Collaborating with a friend and construction worker named Charles Simpson, Yancey and Simpson used scrap materials from other construction projects to build a three-stool hamburger stand on Western Avenue in South Central Los Angeles in 1947. Yancey named it Mr. Fatburger, based on the 1950s slang term “fat,” meaning 'the best.' The Western Ave location became a huge success, and Yancey and Simpson opened three more Fatburger restaurants from 1947 to 1952. In 1952, the two decided to go their separate ways, with Yancey retaining ownership of the name and original Western Ave location. As the sole owner, she dropped the “Mr.” from the name and created a blueprint that is still being used for the franchise restaurants today: she styled it in retro fashion, kept jukeboxes stacked with rock and roll hits, and often worked 16 to 18 hour shifts to be sure that the custom-made burgers were properly cooked and things were running smoothly. She ran the operation so successfully that in 1973 she opened a Beverly Hills location on La Cienega Boulevard. In 1981, Yancey opened up the business to franchising, branding it as ‘The Last Great Hamburger Stand’ and opening over 15 more locations. Because of its popularity, Fatburger was named in Entrepreneur Magazine’s annual Franchise 500 list for three consecutive years, beginning in 1985. In 1986, the chain was named the fifth ‘fastest growing burger franchise chain’ by the magazine, placing only behind more recognizable names like McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wendy’s. Yancey sold the company’s rights in 1990 while retaining complete control of the original property on Western Avenue; in 2001, Magic Johnson bought Fatburger and all of its 51 locations. Yancey did eventually sell the original location, as well, under the condition that it could never be torn down. It was operational until 2009, and still stands due to Yancey’s deal that it could not be removed. Lovie Yancey died of pneumonia on Jan. 26, 2008 in Los Angeles, at the age of 96. Fatburger is considered a Los Angeles staple chain, mentioned in such songs, tv shows, and movies, as ‘The Fast and the Furious,’ ‘Sanford and Son,’ and ‘It Was a Good Day’ by Ice Cube. #LovieYancey #HiddenFigures ****************** Merchandise! MAKE SURE U GETTA SHIRT!! https://www.teepublic.com/user/sssseren https://www.shophouseof950.com/embroidery-tees/theblackamericans https://www.shophouseof950.com/embroidery-tees/dacs?rq=d.a.c.s Follow me on social media! Instagram: @sensei_aishitemasu Personal Tumblr: http://sensei-aishitemasu.tumblr.com Tumblr for my work: https://sssseren.tumblr.com Snapchat: sssseren GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/tc5wh7q ****************** Did you know I wrote a book? ☺️ 'So, About That... A Year of Contemporary Essays on Race and Pop Culture' Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/About-That-Contemporary-Essays-Culture-ebook/dp/B013V0CHK6 Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B013V0CHK6 Digital download (e-book): https://gumroad.com/l/IkUa ****************** Links: https://mobile.twitter.com/francisco_apino/status/1489731415188983812?s=10 THE FATBURGER STORY: https://www.fatburgercanada.com/about-us/fatburger-story/ https://fatburger.com/ourstory 'Black History Month Spotlight - Lovie Yancey, Founder of Beloved SoCal Burger Chain Fatburger:' https://www.lamag.com/culturefiles/black-history-month-spotlight-lovie-yancey/ 'Fatburger founder expanded South L.A. eatery into chain:' https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-feb-02-me-yancey2-story.html 'Lovie Yancey - The Black Woman Who Created The World-Renowned Fatburger:' https://travelnoire.com/lovie-yancey-black-woman-who-founded-fatburger 'Site of Original Fatburger Stand in South LA Saved By CRA Deal:' https://laist.com/news/site-of-original-fatburger-stand-in 'Preservation Update: Original Fatburger Stand Saved:' https://la.curbed.com/2009/7/8/10537930/preservation-update-original-fatburger-stand-saved 'Founder of Fatburger has died:' https://abc7.com/archive/5931464/ 'Remembering Lovie Yancey, The Black Woman Who Founded Fatburger:' https://slausongirl.com/remembering-lovie-yancey-the-black-woman-who-founded-fatburger/ LOVIE YANCEY (1912–2008): https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/lovie-yancey-1912-2008/ Lovie Yancey (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lovie_Yancey