Burger King Yumbo

A history of the hot ham and cheese sandwich from Burger King

Being the youngest member of my family, I was often on the outside of jokes that occurred before I was born. Usually, when these recurring inside jokes happened, I would beg to have them explained to me, and when they were, I was confused. Why was this thing funny to them? They would always say the same thing, “You had to be there.” A common “inside joke” in my family was to, whenever a ham sandwich was being eaten, say the word “Yumbo” both loudly and with exaggeration.

While I didn’t know what the word meant, I was pretty into saying, “Yumbo.” It was just a fun word to say. It just became the word we used for a ham sandwich, and I assumed it was something that was just made up because it had the word “Yum” in it. A few years later, I asked my Mom about it, and she told me that it was actually a reference to a sandwich they served at Burger King that she liked getting and one my sister thought was hilarious.

The Burger King Yumbo was a hot ham and cheese sandwich that made its world premiere in 1971. This original Yumbo, it would change in the future, was served on a buttery bun and consisted of slices of lean ham and cheese piled high, served hot in a special container designed to maintain its temperature. The bun wasn’t the standard burger bun, but appeared to be more of a knotted-looking bread. The container, which I haven’t been able to find online, appeared to be a Styrofoam clamshell like they would later use for the McDLT, only less spacious. Here is a newspaper ad they ran in 1971 that showed the original Yumbo.

This is the only image I can find of this Yumbo. In 1974, a tray liner advertisement that was used in stores showed a different bun. This looks more like a standard Burger King sesame seed bun. The idea that the chain would bring in a special bun just for this one sandwich seems expensive. So I am wondering if the original advertisement was someone taking artistic license.

The sandwich proved very popular, and Burger King backed it up with plenty of advertising. In 1971, it was priced at 79 cents, but they ran a lot of buy-one-get-one-free specials, and I have seen it as cheap as 2 for 99 cents. Not a bad deal, and the Yumbo fans turned out to try it, and many were hooked. It would seem that the Yumbo would be around forever, but after about a decade, demand started to wane, and in late 1976, some locations started to remove it from the menu. Fortunately for fans, the removal was spotty at best, and some locations would continue to sell the sandwich well into the 1980s.

This removal, according to author Ed Pendrys, was an attempt to “stick with our core products—burgers, and the Whopper in particular—and not clutter the menu.” Pendrys, who would, during his long life, run 10 Burger King locations and other fast-food franchises, was also pitching a roast beef sandwich at the time, that was unfortunately rejected only to be revived just a few years later. Sadly, that sandwich lasted just about a year because of competition. Refocusing on core menu items isn’t unusual for fast-food restaurants. They are constantly in a cycle of experimenting and then returning to focus on core products. The Yumbo managed to survive a long time in this cutthroat environment, so I would label it a success.

Finding the calorie information for fast food in the past, wasn’t always easy. If you were curious how many calories the Yumbo had, it was 381. Here you can see it along with Burger King’s other offerings in 1981.

While I cannot find a single original commercial online for the Yumbo, I have found some interesting print marketing. One was for a Yumbo-themed toy giveaway for a Yumbo Yet (Jumbo Jet) glider, which any customer under 12 could get for free with the purchase of a sandwich in 1976. As you can see, it’s a pretty novel little glider, with broad oval wings that allowed for maximum print marketing on the wings. While the toy is great, I especially like the playful turn of “Jumbo Jet” into “Yumbo Yet.” Sadly, I haven’t been able to find a single surviving one of these toys. Maybe they weren’t very popular, or perhaps kids were just rough on them, and they didn’t survive.

Whoever came up with the “Yumbo Yet” concept really must have hit a home run at corporate because the company also ran a sweepstakes. If you went into a participating restaurant, you could fill out an entry form, and in November of that year, 160 couples would receive a 5-day, 4-night vacation in Jamaica. This included airfare on an Air Jamaica Yumbo Yet and a stay at one of two spectacular island hotels. I have been trying to find an entry form or mention of a winner, but so far, nothing has shown up.

While the Yumbo would eventually completely disappear, it was never forgotten. Reading through newspapers in the next two decades, you will find mentions of it as something missed. Other restaurants also started using the term more generically to describe a ham and cheese sandwich. The Yumbo refused to die.

First it was revived at some point in the later part of the eighties and Chris Meloni of Law & Order fame was used in the advertising. Its a strange commercial because it acts like they hadn’t used the term Yumbo before. Sadly it didn’t appear to last long or be distributed widely because I found a mention of it as a new sandwich in a newspaper article from 1988, but that is it.

Then in 2012, we received a nice bit of news: the Yumbo was coming back! Social media at the time was all over it, and you can find dozens, maybe even hundreds of videos online of people trying the Yumbo. The thing is, it wasn’t the same Yumbo. I am sure Burger King did a lot of testing before the re-release and ultimately decided to release it as one of their specialty sandwiches. This meant it was served on a toasted hoagie bun with lettuce and mayo. This was the Yumbo 2.0, and it did attract fans, both new and old. But for purists, it just wasn’t the same.

If you happened to live near a Hungry Jack’s in Australia in 2021, you were in for a real treat. They decided to re-release the Yumbo as well, but instead of reinventing the classic, their version looked just like the Yumbo of old. This version of the sandwich was still available until at least the early nineties, so not as much of a throwback as the American version. Still, for fans, it was a real treat.

Unfortunately, the Yumbo is no longer available. Its retro appeal wasn’t strong enough to trigger a complete return to the menu. While this is the case, for some, the Yumbo lives on in secret menu combinations that you can get at some locations willing to be adventurous with their breakfast meats. I have never tried it, but if you are bold, why not try ordering a hot ham and cheese on your next trip to Burger King (or Hungry Jack’s)? The worst that they can say is no.

In the end, the Yumbo may not have made its way back as a permanent fixture on the Burger King or Hungry Jack’s menu, but its legacy lives on as one of those quirky, beloved classics that fans remember fondly. Whether it's the memories of family jokes or the nostalgia for a simpler time when a hot ham and cheese sandwich seemed revolutionary, the Yumbo is more than just a sandwich, it’s a reminder of the fleeting but memorable experiments that give fast-food culture its charm. So, if you’re ever in the mood for a little culinary nostalgia, why not try ordering a Yumbo-inspired creation on your next visit? It might just take you back, if only for a moment, to a time when hot ham and cheese caused a minor craze.