The earliest known version of Sternberger’s creation of the cheeseburger was recently discovered by food historian Andrew Smith, author of Hamburger: A Global History. It is in an article in The Pasadena Post, a now defunct newspaper. Published July 23, 1931, it sheds light on Sternberger’s early life and innovative ideas.

A plaque commemorating cheeseburger's invention in Pasadena in the sidewalk outside the LA Financial Credit Union at 1520 W. Colorado Boulevard.

“Menus and other historical artifacts support the Rite Spot as being the originator of the hamburger with cheese. Sternberger did not call it a cheeseburger, which is what the others who claim to be originators use.”

The first item on the menu, it was called the “Aristocratic Hamburger” and billed as “the original hamburger with cheese.”