Read time: 4 min.

Fast-food roast beef: is there anything better? Don’t answer that. Arby’s holds the fort down today, but I’m not so young that I can’t remember Rax and its Uncle Alligator meals, endless salads, and barbecue beef sandwiches. For a brief moment, though, Anderson had a third player in the roast beef game: Sir Beef. Although it’s been more than forty years since the restaurant closed, its building still stands just south of the White River on Jackson Street. It’s a quiet reminder of a forgotten chapter in fast-food history.

The first Sir Beef restaurant opened on Rockford, Illinois’ East State Street in 1967. Two years later, restauranteurs William Scherer, Lloyd Holtzclaw, and Jack Crandall brought the Old-English style restaurant to Anderson. The chain’s marquee meal was its fresh, “T-L-C” (Tender Loving Care) beef, which was slow-cooked every hour to retain its natural juices. Each Sir Beef sandwich featured three sauces as garnish¹.

In addition to the Sir Beef sandwich, Sir Beef, the restaurant, offered Kosher Style Corn Beef sandwiches served on rye, and Oxford baked ham. Sir Beef Juniors were the meals for the kiddos, while beverages like soft drinks, shakes, coffee, and something alarmingly known as “beef tea” whetted the whistle. In 1969, Anderson’s Sir Beef location was open from eleven to eleven on weekdays, and eleven through midnight on Friday and Saturday². 

In 1970, Anderson’s Sir Beef declared war on inflation by offering the regular Sir Beef -stacked high on a large bun- for 49 cents as part of a “deflationary special³.” Reality set in a couple months later, when the company reset its regular prices for the Sir Beef and its Oxford Baked Ham sandwiches at the higher price point of 59 cents apiece⁴. 

Anderson’s Sir Beef was purchased by Sir Beef of Lafayette in 1974⁵. Unfortunately, the Anderson branch was shuttered by 1982 when the building became home to Sir Richard’s Lounge⁶. For what it’s worth, Lafayette’s Sir Beef lasted until about 1984, when a hot dog restaurant called J.R. Steamers took over the building⁷. Most recently, it was home to a hair salon. 

Back in Anderson, Sir Richard’s Lounge created some controversy as home to the “Boy-lesque Review,” a drag show. Several members of the Anderson Herald attended a performance before its grand opening. One dancer interviewed admitted that the club operated without any trouble. “ As a matter of fact,” they reported, “some policemen have come in and said they really enjoyed the show. It’s all a clean act⁸.”

I’m not sure when Sir Richard’s closed, aside from that it was a long time ago. As of 2013, the old Sir Beef building in Anderson found new life as Bray’s Rummage & Flea Market. More recently, it housed a dog grooming business. Today, it’s hard to say exactly what goes on inside- it looks like the building may have been divided into apartments. Whatever its current use, though, Anderson’s old Sir Beef remains a quiet relic of a time when we had more than one option to get a quick roast beef sandwich on the run. I wish I had a chance to try it!

Sources Cited
1 Sir Beef, Ltd., Offers Truly Fine Sandwiches (1969, April 1). The Anderson Daily Bulletin. p. 11.
2 (See footnote 2). 
3 Sir Beef Declares War On Inflation! (1970, January 17). The Anderson Herald. p. 19.
4 Other Restaurants Hate Us (1970, March 21). The Anderson Herald. p. 14. 
5 Lafayette’s Sir Beef was shuttered by 1984 when the building at 3267 Teal Road became a hot dog restaurant called J.R. Steamers (Hot, 1984).
6 Boys will be boys? (1982, August 1). The Anderson Herald. p. 5. 
7 Hot dog restaurant to open (1984, June 30). The Lafayette Journal and Courier. p. 23. 
8 (See footnote 6).