Pumper Nic (shortened to Pumper after 1989) was a popular chain of
fast-food
Fast food is a type of mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. ''Fast food'' is a commercial term, limited to food sold in a restaurant or store with frozen, preheated or precooked ...
restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and Delivery (commerce), food delivery services. Restaurants ...
s in
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
that existed in the 1970s and 1980s. It is currently considered by many
Argentines
Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...
to be a
cult classic
A cult following is a group of Fan (person), fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some List of art media, medium. The latter is often cal ...
. Its name is derived from the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
pumpernickel
Pumpernickel (; ) is a typically dense, slightly sweet rye bread traditionally made with sourdough starter and coarsely ground rye. It is sometimes made with a combination of rye flour and whole rye grains ("rye berries").
At one time, it w ...
, a type of
bread
Bread is a baked food product made from water, flour, and often yeast. It is a staple food across the world, particularly in Europe and the Middle East. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cu ...
.
History

Pumper Nic was created by Alfredo Lowenstein in 1974, also an ex-owner of Quickfood, parent company of the renowned
Argentine beef
Beef is a key component of traditional Argentine cuisine. In 2019, Argentina was the 4th largest producer of beef, with a production of 3 million tons (only behind the US, Brazil and China).
History
Cattle were first brought to Argentina in 15 ...
hamburger supplier ''Paty'' – which was in turn founded by his brother Ernesto – and the Las Leñas tourist complex. In 1975 the company became Argentina's first franchise and quickly expanded throughout the country, reaching a total of 70 restaurants and an annual revenue of 60 million dollars.
The chain's rapid growth made it extremely difficult for its headquarters in Buenos Aires to keep a grip on the franchisees. A combination of poor management and a lack of standardization caused food quality to vary greatly between the restaurants.
Pumper Nic's
logo
A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name that it represents, as in ...
was based upon
Burger King
Burger King Corporation (BK, stylized in all caps) is an American multinational chain store, chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacks ...
's, before the latter began operating in
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
. When
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...
and Burger King opened their first venues in the country in 1986 and 1989 respectively, Pumper Nic was forced to change its logo and have its name shortened to ''Pumper'' due to a lawsuit by Burger King.
Lowenstein handed over Pumper Nic in 1990 to his sons Diego and Paula, who had little interest in running the business. The family sold the chain in 1995 and started from scratch by associating themselves with
Wendy's
Wendy's International, LLC, is an American international fast food restaurant chain founded by Dave Thomas (businessman), Dave Thomas on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio. Its headquarters moved to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. As of D ...
, which had just opened its first restaurant in the country. Furthermore, the franchise system collapsed in its entirety the following year.
Pumper Nic's new owners, real estate agents Goldstein and Rosenbaum, were unable to relaunch the company. Unable to compete with larger American fast-food chains, Pumper Nic finally declared
bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...
in early 1999.
The last Pumper Nic restaurant is still operating at the Moreno shopping center in
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
.
Products
Pumper Nic's signature sandwich was the ''Mobur'', a sandwich with an egg in between. One of their famous menu items was − two
burgers for the price of one.
French fries
French fries, or simply fries, also known as chips, and finger chips (Indian English), are '' batonnet'' or '' julienne''-cut deep-fried potatoes of disputed origin. They are prepared by cutting potatoes into even strips, drying them, and f ...
were called ''Frenys''.
Names of other Pumper Nic sandwiches include: Jaque (, ham and cheese) and Jaque'H.
Slogans
Their most famous tagline was "Pumper Nic, the new way of dining" ().
In popular culture
Nic the Hippo is featured among the animals that escape from the
Los Angeles Zoo
The Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens is a zoo founded in 1966 and located in Los Angeles, California, United States. The city of Los Angeles owns the zoo, its land and facilities, and the animals.
History
Eastlake Zoo, opened in Eastlak ...
during an earthquake that hits
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
in the animated
short film
A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...
''
Logorama'' (2009).
See also
*
List of fast-food restaurants
*
List of defunct fast-food restaurant chains
This is a list of defunct fast-food chains. A Chain store#Restaurant chain, restaurant chain is a set of related restaurants with the same name in many different locations that are either under shared corporate ownership (e.g., McDonald's in the ...
References
{{reflist
Food and drink companies established in 1974
Food and drink companies disestablished in 1999
1974 establishments in Argentina
1999 disestablishments in Argentina
Defunct fast-food chains
Defunct restaurants in Argentina
Fast-food chains of Argentina
Fast-food franchises
Food and drink companies based in Buenos Aires