Dear Vance: What happened to the burger joint called Sandy’s, located on South Highland? That was a popular hangout with my friends when I was attending Memphis State in the early 1960s.
Dear G.L.: Have I mentioned to you (and my half-dozen other readers) my 2026 Vance Lauderdale Holiday Calendar? I’ve assembled fascinating old photos and added dozens of Memphis-related dates to the pages. And the best thing — besides the honorable “Vance Lauderdale” name emblazoned across the cover — is the cost. It’s FREE. You pay nothing extra if you renew your subscription to Memphis Magazine, or buy gift subscriptions for your friends and family. We’ll mail a calendar to every new subscriber. (See our holiday subscription page in this issue, or visit memphismagazine.com/subscriptions for more information.)
Now, wait. I know you think this is a blatant self-promotion, but I’m getting to my point here, in my charming long-winded way. On the April 2026 page of that calendar is a wonderful photograph showing the employees of Whistle Bottling Company posing for the camera outside their headquarters on South Front Street. In the early 1900s, it seems, hundreds of bottling companies across America hoped to emulate the success of Coca-Cola by coming up with their own brands. In Memphis, it was Whistle, and their catchy slogan was “Just Whistle.” Unfortunately, the company didn’t survive, though old Whistle bottles and ads are very desirable collectibles.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY SHERWOOD JR. HIGH SCHOOL
A nice ad for Sandy's ran in the 1963 Sherwood Archer yearbook showing the location on South Highland. Too bad it wasn't in color. The students are Barbara Mills, Carol Nelson, Sandra Hughey, Karen Tubbs, Rudy Schmidt, and Tommy Wilson.
In the 1960s, that same desire to “get rich quick” happened again, this time with burger joints hoping to follow the success of McDonald’s. Most people know that worldwide chain, now advertising “Billions and Billions Served,” started with two brothers, Richard and Maurice McDonald, operating a single restaurant in San Bernardino, California. That might be the end of the story — and my mention of it here — except for a fellow named Ray Kroc, who was urging the brothers to buy his milkshake machine. What caught his attention, though, was their “Speedee Service System” for preparing their simple menu, and the long line of customers stretching out the door. Very soon, Kroc had purchased the rights to the McDonald brothers’ name and operation, and with one restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois, began the worldwide empire that thrives to this day.
Okay, I haven’t forgotten that the question was about a place here called Sandy’s.
In 1956, four businessmen in Kewanee, Illinois, decided to jump on the McDonald’s bandwagon. I won’t bore you with their names, because they don’t really get involved in the Memphis venture. At any rate, they purchased the rights to open McDonald’s restaurants in the Midwest, opening the first one in Urbana, Illinois, and with two others in that state soon to follow.
Well, from what I can understand (it’s complicated), Ray Kroc had a problem with that. It seems their contract did say that could open other McDonald’s — but not in central Illinois — and there were other technical/legal issues that put a stop to this venture. Unwilling to give up, the four entrepreneurs decided on a quick and easy solution: Even though their new eateries were almost carbon copies of McDonald’s, they simply changed their name to Sandy’s. I have no idea where they came up with the name; none of the original investors were named Sandy.
If you’ll pardon me for quoting from Wikipedia, “The chain adopted a Scottish-based theme to combat the Scottish-rooted McDonald’s, even though the latter was not based on a cultural theme of any kind.” I bet this is the first time you learned that McDonald’s was “Scottish-rooted.”
Sandy’s wasn’t either, really. It’s true they came up with a logo that featured a red-haired Scottish lassie, adorned in a tartan cap, sash, and kilt, but the menu was 100 percent American. The buildings also had nothing Scottish about them; in fact, I’d called them “fast-food futuristic,” with large, outwardly slanted windows, bright panels (usually red and white), jutting beams, and overhanging awnings on all sides. There was no drive-thru; that innovation wouldn’t come for years. I’ve never located a photo of the interior, so I can’t tell you about that, but I understand the employees wore tartan tam-o-shanter caps — oh, the humiliation!
Just as other fast-food outlets came up with catchy names for their best-selling products — McDonald’s Big Mac and Burger King’s Whopper immediately come to mind — in later years Sandy’s introduced “The Scotsman” (their version of the Whopper) and the “Big Scot” (a combo pack of double burger, fries, and shake).
By 1960, Sandy’s operated more than 40 restaurants throughout the Midwest, along with a few in Florida and Arizona. The first one in Memphis — in Tennessee, for that matter — opened in 1961 at 775 South Highland.
The menu was very limited, and the prices were incredibly low. Those Memphis State students had their choice of a 15-cent hamburger, a 19-cent cheeseburger, a 10-cent bag of French fries, a 20-cent milkshake (chocolate or vanilla), a soft drink for a dime, and something Sandy’s called “hot flips” (apple or cherry) for 15 cents. Customers really had to be hungry to pay more than a dollar for lunch.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY KINGSBURY HIGH SCHOOL
This small ad ran in the 1963 Kingsbury High School yearbook. It's not clear if this is the location on South Highland, or on Summer.
In 1962, Sandy’s opened a second location at 3592 Summer and Sevier, a corner lot. What’s curious (to me, anyway) is that tiny newspaper ads revealed the full name of both establishments to be Sandy’s Thrift and Swift Drive-In — for those customers, I presume, who still didn’t understand the concept of fast food.
The next year, they expanded their menu slightly, now offering a grilled-cheese sandwich for 15 cents, and a fish sandwich for a quarter. Sandy’s was ahead of the pack with that item; McDonald’s didn’t offer their Filet-o-Fish until two years later.
Just as other fast-food outlets came up with catchy names for their best-selling products — McDonald’s Big Mac and Burger King’s Whopper immediately come to mind — in later years Sandy’s introduced “The Scotsman” (their version of the Whopper) and the “Big Scot” (a combo pack of double burger, fries, and shake). But despite tweaking their menu and various promotions, they simply weren’t in the same league with the national corporations.
Sandy’s never opened other locations here, so that caused a problem: With only two stores, they had limited revenues for advertising. A search through newspaper archives here reveals only postage-stamped-sized ads, mainly just including their logo and addresses. They managed to place a few ads in local yearbooks (like this one from the 1963 Sherwood Archer) but couldn’t afford the far more expensive radio and TV advertising that were drawing customers to McDonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Burger King, and other fast-food competitors. In short, Sandy’s was doomed.
By the late 1960s, financial woes forced them to close most locations, included the two Sandy’s here. In 1971, in an attempt to survive, they merged with the growing Hardee’s chain (yes, named for a real person, founder Wilbur Hardee). Some of the Sandy’s reverted to individual ownership and held on throughout the Seventies. The last one managed to stay open in Winona, Minnesota, until 1989.
In Memphis another, rather unusual fast-food establishment moved into the former Sandy’s locations on Summer and Highland, called Arthur Treacher’s Fish & Chips. Treacher (1894-1975) was a well-known British character actor who, in 1969, decided to introduce Americans to the British staple of codfish and French fries, often served from vendors’ carts in rolled-up newspapers. The stores here were a bit fancier than that, and (despite the name) offered more than fish and fries. By the late 1970s, they had opened more than 800 stores from coast to coast. But the fast-food market is a notoriously fickle one, and today only four of Treacher’s Fish & Chips stores remain open.
The Memphis locations became home to other businesses. On South Highland, a national chain called Catfish Station moved in, followed within a few years by a Jamaican restaurant called Spice of the Islands, then a Southern home-cooking place called Mojo’s. There may have been others I’m overlooking. It was most recently El Puerto Mexican Restaurant.
But drive to 775 South Highland today and you’ll drive away still hungry. The site is now a vacant lot. The second Sandy’s location on Summer was demolished years ago; the newer building there, called Summer Place Center, is home to a half-dozen businesses: Belle Beauty Supply, Repeat Boutique, Yum’s Subs, and Pizza Hut among them.
Sandy’s is fondly remembered by many former customers. Some of them have even set up a Facebook page called “Remembering Sandy’s Drive-In,” where they share photos, newspaper clippings, and stories of working or eating there. One post is fairly typical: “I have fond memories of eating at Sandy’s. That’s where I discovered the magic of dunking fries in a chocolate malt!”
Now, about that Vance Lauderdale 2026 Holiday Calendar ...
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