privately held founded albuquerque new mexico 1952 1952 founder blake chanslor headquarters albuquerque new mexico united states number of locations 78 area served new mexico texas and arizona key people ronald c. rule ceo 1 products hamburgers french fries chili hot dogs and soft drinks website www.lotaburger.com blake s lotaburger often shortened to either blake s or lotaburger is a fast food chain based in albuquerque new mexico . blake s has 78 locations . seventy three are in new mexico three are in texas and two are in arizona . 2 all lotaburger stores are company owned . blake s lotaburger also owns the majority of the property that its stores are built on and the stores are built by the company s 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 resulting in what might be considered slow service by fast food standards . contents 1 history 2 menu 3 store appearance 4 community relations 5 awards 6 references 7 external links history edit blake s lotaburger was founded by blake chanslor who moved from texas to albuquerque new mexico after world war ii . 3 chanslor opened his first lota burger stand on july 9 1952 . his initial investment in the business was 5 300 and his stand was 230 square feet 21 m2 on the corner of san mateo and southern in southeast albuquerque . in 1953 he opened two more stores . 4 5 chanslor expanded lotaburger to 23 cities in new mexico with 35 stores in albuquerque . chanslor remained the owner until 2003 when he sold his interest to the father son team of ronald c. and brian rule . 6 the restaurants are known as blake s lotaburger . when as of 2013 the company owned and operated 76 stores . 7 in the 1990s the company featured television commercial personality ernest p. worrell played by jim varney in many of its television ads . citation needed according to the albuquerque journal in 1994 lotaburger helped popularize the use of green chiles as a condiment on hamburgers . 8 in 2006 the company was recognized by national geographic for the best green chile cheeseburger in the world . 9 in 2009 the new mexico tourism department listed the restaurants as one of the state s destinations on the green chile cheeseburger trail . 10 11 in june 2013 the company announced it would open its first texas location would open that fall on el paso s west side . 12 13 a second el paso location opened in june 2014 on the city s east sid . the company announced plans in early 2015 to expand to tucson arizona and is currently building its first location there . . 14 menu edit blake s signature menu item is the lotaburger which is commonly ordered with cheese and green chile added . other offerings include the smaller itsaburger as well as hot dogs corn dogs cheese dogs chili dogs chili cheese dogs chili bowls and chili frito pies . sandwiches include breaded chicken turkey breast barbecue beef and halibut fish . also offered are chicken tenders with barbecue sauce or ranch dressing fries seasoned fries chili cheese fries onion rings and milkshakes . brownies were recently added when . 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 burritos and the customer can choose between blake s special red or green chile sauce . blake s also caters onsite with offerings from the regular and breakfast menu including fruit platters scrambled eggs french toast and pancakes . the food is typically prepared on site but breakfast burritos can be pre made upon request . 5 the green chile a defining ingredient in new mexican cuisine can be ordered as an addition to any menu item . a special green and red sauce made from new mexico green chiles can be added to the breakfast burritos . 5 store appearance edit an older location in santa fe 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 . community relations edit blake s lotaburger is a long time supporter of the special olympics in new mexico . 15 in 2008 blake s owner brian rule donated 10 000 to support california proposition 8 which banned gay marriage in california . in response some gay marriage activists have boycotted the restaurant . 16 17 awards edit in 2009 blake s lotaburger was awarded best burger and best french fries in the weekly alibi . 18 national geographic in 2006 considered blake s as having the best green chile cheeseburger in the world . 9 in june 2012 it also ranked blake s lotaburger fourth on its 10 best hamburgers list . 19 20 21 references edit http www.restaurantlist.us company blakes lotaburger inc in albuquerque nm 9594 locations . blake s lotaburger . retrieved 2015 11 28 . new mexico burger baron opened his first blake s lotaburger in 53 . associated press . denver post . 2009 04 16 . retrieved 2009 04 18 . murphy dan 1985 . new mexico the distant land an illustrated history . photo research by john o. baxter 1985 ed . . northridge ca windsor publications . p. 164 . isbn 978 0 89781 119 4 . a b c blake s lotaburger . blake s lotaburger llc . retrieved 2009 04 23 . blake s lotaburger sold . . albuquerque journal . 2003 07 08 . archived from the original on 2008 09 29 . retrieved 2008 07 14 . locations pdf . lotaburger.com . retrieved 20 june 2013 . albuquerque journal business outlook . albuquerque journal . 1994 05 08 . p. 4 . access date requires url help a b national geographic passport to the best the 10 best of everything . national geographic . 2006 03 21 . access date requires url help new mexico green chile cheeseburger trail . new mexico tourism department . retrieved 2009 12 17 . husson amanda . green chile cheeseburger trail guides visitors to flavorful hotspots . las cruces sun news . media news group . archived from the original on 2009 12 12 . retrieved 2009 12 08 . expansion s on the front burner for blake s hamburger chain . albuquerque journal . retrieved 2013 06 28 . nm chain blake s lotaburger to open in west el paso this fall . el paso times and medianews group . retrieved 2013 06 28 . blake s lotaburger to open first tucson location . arizona daily star . retrieved 2015 11 28 . special olympics new mexico . special olympics new mexico . archived from the original on may 14 2009 . retrieved 2009 05 05 . prop. 8 supporters rally big bucks in new mexico . santa fe new mexican . 2008 11 17 . retrieved 2008 11 19 . propostion 8 contributions . san francisco chronicle . 2008 11 10 . retrieved 2008 11 11 . dead link this week s feature . weekly alibi . retrieved 2009 10 10 . america s 10 best burgers according to national geographic . the huffington post . 2012 06 26 . retrieved 2012 06 27 . laflin nancy . nm burger named one of the best in u.s. . lin television corporation . retrieved 2012 06 27 . nat geo blake s 4th best burger in u.s. . albuquerque journal . retrieved 2012 06 27 . external links edit official website v t e fast food and fast casual restaurant chains in the united states chicken chains coffeehouse chains pizza chains hamburgers a & w back yard big boy burger king carl s jr. checkers rally s cook out fatburger five guys freddy s fuddruckers the habit hardee s in n out jack in the box johnny rockets krystal mcdonald s roy rogers shake shack smashburger sonic steak n shake wayback wendy s whataburger white castle asian l & l hawaiian barbecue 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