Louis Lassen (1865 – March 20, 1935) was a "blacksmith by trade and preacher by vocation" and immigrated to New Haven from Denmark in 1886.
He became a food peddler, selling butter and eggs from a wooden cart.
He purchased a home at 45 Elliot Street and stored his cart in a shed in the backyard.
In 1895, he began adding lunch items to his cart.

A local businessman dashed into the small New Haven lunch wagon one day in 1900, and he pleaded for a lunch to go.
According to the Lassen family, the customer exclaimed "Louie!
I'm in a rush, slap a meatpuck between two planks and step on it!".
Lassen placed his own blend of ground steak trimmings between two slices of toast and sent the gentleman on his way, so the story goes, with America's alleged first hamburger being served.
In 1917, Lassen moved into a square brick building that had once been a tannery.
Louis' Lunch was forced to move to make way for development in 1975, so it moved two blocks down to 263 Crown Street in New Haven.
In the 1970s, Ken Lassen added cheese spread to the hamburger.
The fifth generation of Lassens' owns and operates Louis' Lunch today.
Louis Lassen (1865 – March 20, 1935) was a "blacksmith by trade and preacher by vocation" and immigrated to New Haven from Denmark in 1886. He became a food peddler, selling butter and eggs from a wooden cart. He purchased a home at 45 Elliot Street and stored his cart in a shed in the backyard. In 1895, he began adding lunch items to his cart.
A local businessman dashed into the small New Haven lunch wagon one day in 1900, and he pleaded for a lunch to go. According to the Lassen family, the customer exclaimed "Louie! I'm in a rush, slap a meatpuck between two planks and step on it!". Lassen placed his own blend of ground steak trimmings between two slices of toast and sent the gentleman on his way, so the story goes, with America's alleged first hamburger being served. In 1917, Lassen moved into a square brick building that had once been a tannery. Louis' Lunch was forced to move to make way for development in 1975, so it moved two blocks down to 263 Crown Street in New Haven. In the 1970s, Ken Lassen added cheese spread to the hamburger. The fifth generation of Lassens' owns and operates Louis' Lunch today.
Louis' Lunch