#FlashbackFriday: 20 Years Ago, the Exchange Opened the First Burger King in Iraq

On June 11, 2003—20 years ago this week—the Exchange opened the first Burger King in Iraq. Troops were ready for the Baghdad-based restaurant: Ten days after it opened, it set a single-day sales record for Exchange Burger Kings.

Maj. Gen Kathryn Frost, the Exchange’s commander at the time, was on hand to greet hundreds of Soldiers waiting in line on opening day. The troops let out a rousing chorus of “hoo-ahs!” and applauded as the doors opened to the long-awaited taste of home.

“This is the best Whopper sandwich I have ever eaten,” the first customer told the Exchange Post. He had been living for months on MREs.

American troops attend the grand opening of the AAFES Burger King at Baghdad International Airport in 2003. The restaurant was so popular with the troops that it made 5,000 meat patties a day.

The BK was, er, a whopping success: daily sales there almost tripled the normal daily average for Exchange-operated Burger Kings. Sales averaged more than $15 per order.

Getting authorized Burger King product into Iraq was a challenge. It was first obtained through a distribution outlet in Kuwait City, then brought via armed military convoy to the Baghdad location. The 300-mile journey sometimes took three days.

The restaurant was one of several name-brand restaurants that the Exchange opened and operated throughout Southwest Asia and the Middle East, starting in 2001 with Operation Enduring Freedom and then Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. The Exchange also opened locations of Starbucks, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Popeyes and more throughout the Middle East and Southwest Asia.

The Exchange no longer operates a Burger King in Iraq, but runs two in Kuwait at Camps Arifjan and Buehring and one in Qatar at Camp As Saliyah.

Burger King is a key part of Exchange history. It was the first nationally known quick-service restaurant company to join the Exchange family when it opened its first restaurant in Ansbach, Germany, on Aug. 3, 1984. The Exchange currently operates 126 Burger Kings worldwide.

Source: Exchange Post archives. For more Exchange history, visit the Exchange History and History Readers albums on Flickr.