Having the suffix "-burger" referring to the Sternberger family, cheeseburger was first invented by Lionel Sternberger in 1924 at the age of 16. He was working as a fry
cook at his
father'
s Pasadena, California, sandwich shop, "The Rite Spot", and "experimentally dropped a slab of American cheese on a sizzling hamburger." An early example of the cheeseburger appearing on a menu is a 1928 menu for the Los Angeles restaurant O'
Dell's, which listed a cheeseburger smothered with chili for 25 cents, or about
4.7 dollars in 2025 after inflation.
Next
time you
grab a cheeseburger, remember it all started with
Lionel Sternberger experimenting with cheese in 1924—talk about a delicious legacy!