The double cheeseburger is widely credited to Bob Wian, who created the first “double-deck” cheeseburger at his Glendale, California diner (Bob’s Pantry, later Bob’s Big Boy) in 1937.
What happened in 1937
Accounts from Big Boy’s own historical timeline and restaurant histories describe Wian splitting a bun into three parts, adding two beef patties with cheese and condiments, and serving what became the original “Big Boy” double- deck cheeseburger in Glendale, California in 1937. Food history pieces similarly credit Wian and Bob’s Big Boy for introducing the first double cheeseburger that year.
Notes on timing and terminology
Some retellings place the invention around 1937–1938 at Bob’s Big Boy in Southern California, but they point to the same creator and restaurant lineage, with the “double-deck” format (two patties and a middle bun) as the defining feature attributed to Wian. Lists and commemorations of “National Double Cheeseburger Day” also cite Bob’s Big Boy in 1937 as the origin of the double cheeseburger concept.
Related burger origins
The cheeseburger itself (single patty with cheese) is commonly credited to Lionel Sternberger in Pasadena, California in the 1920s, predating the double- deck innovation by about a decade, which helps explain why Wian’s 1937 creation is specifically noted as the first “double” cheeseburger. Later, chains like In-N-Out helped popularize double-patty formats (e.g., the Double- Double in 1948), but these came after Wian’s original double-deck burger.
