Burgermaster founder was a key figure in Microsoft’s early days

Most people know how Paul Allen and Steve Ballmer helped Bill Gates build Microsoft over the years. Lesser known is the role Phil Jensen played in fueling the company, particularly during the 1980s — whether or not Jensen was aware of it at the time.

Jensen, who founded the Burgermaster chain, died Saturday night, according to a KING-TV report yesterday afternoon citing information from his daughter. It’s not clear if Jensen and Bill Gates ever met, but one of his locations was an important part of Microsoft’s culture after the company moved from Albuquerque and before it went to Redmond, when it was in Bellevue — next to the Burgermaster on Northup Way.

Here’s how James Wallace and Jim Erickson explained the significance of the Bellevue restaurant in their 1992 book, “Hard Drive.”

One side of the Northup building faced a fast food restaurant called The Burgermaster, and Gates’ secretary soon had the restaurant’s number on her telephone speed-dial so she could quickly order Gates’ favorite meal: hamburger, fries, and a chocolate shake. Not long after the move to the Northup building (early office manager) Miriam Lubow went to lunch with Gates and others at one of Bellevue’s more fashionable restaurants. Gates ordered an expensive wine for the table and the usual hamburger for himself.

We hear that one reason Gates was drawn to Burgermaster was that his parents were fans of the Laurelhurst location.

Jensen suffered a fall four weeks ago and never recovered, KING-TV reported, citing his daughter. Burgermaster is a family business, and there’s no sign that the passing of Jensen will have any effect on the continuing operations of the restaurant chain.

Recognizing its historical significance to Microsoft, the Bellevue Burgermaster is one of the stops on our TechFlash Geek’s Guide to Seattle. – Techflash

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