Developer aims to build car wash at iconic Biff-Burger site in St. Petersburg
By Breanne Williams
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Jan 20, 2022

St. Petersburg’s renowned Biff-Burger on 49th Street may soon become a car wash.

An email sent to neighborhood officials said a developer intends to file a special exception application at the site, 3939 49th St. N. and 3911 49th St. N., to “request the use of a car wash.”

Biff-Burger — which stands for Best in Fast Food — opened in Clearwater in 1956 and expanded across Florida, the Southeast and into Canada. In the 1970s the chain went out of business. The St. Pete location was one of two operating restaurants to continue.

In December, fans of the roadside burger joint were able to take home pieces of the old business in an auction including furniture, signs, equipment, celebrity photos and even the 1957 Chevy that was stationed on the restaurant’s roof.

Notes from a pre-application meeting filed with the city show discussions about traffic, tree preservation and the number of car washes within a mile of the property are planned. The 49th Street Car Wash lies 0.1 miles away from the site.

Biff-Burger held a strong following of loyal diners who drove in time and again for its “roto-broiled” burgers — a beef burger that is cooked on an upper rotisserie rack and was broiled between two heating elements like tubes in a space heater while the lower rack held the buns that caught the drippings from the burgers. The burgers were dipped in a special sauce made from 27 spices.

It became a haven for motorcyclists and classic car enthusiasts in the area and had walk-up counters where customers could buy the iconic hamburgers as well as hotdogs and milkshakes.