Burger Hut stays in the family
When customers walk into Burger Hut or Burger Hut 2, new owner Mackenzie Denny feels everyone comes in with a sense of community.
Denny, 24, aims to follow in her parents footsteps. She was named the new owner of the business on March 15 following the retirements of her parents, Patti and Mark Denny.
“My parents have transitioned me to this position after working with them for years,” Mackenzie said. “This was something we all knew was coming. It was a little difficult doing it all on my own at first. The hardest part still is working in the restaurant, not the office work.”
The diner-style restaurants offer a lot of breakfast items; sandwich items; burgers, obviously; and a bunch of American style food, Mackenzie said.
“Everything is made fresh,” she said. “That's one thing we try to do. We get our meat from the Farmers Market and try to get everything locally and give back to the local people.”
Patti, 64, and Mark, 70, are looking forward to a simple retirement, where they can spend more time with family and friends.
“Running those restaurants is a lot,” Patti said. “It's seven days a week and you don't really get a day off. Mark and I are ready to retire. We have family in Florida and we want to make a plan for our future and enjoy a couple years.”
The first Burger Hut was opened in the 1950s, which was then sold to Mark’s family in 1979, and it has been in the hands of a Denny ever since.
“Mark was hands-on in the restaurant and he opened up Burger Hut 2, which became a main hub … in 1981,” Patti said.
Mackenzie still finds herself behind a grill, mostly at Burger Hut 2 because it gets really busy for lunch, she said.
She now spends a lot of time between the two restaurants, especially because of how codependent they are.
“Some things are made downtown and others are made up at Burger Hut 2,” Patti said. “Then we move it back and forth. You make the chili at one and make the gravy at another and move them back and forth.”
Mackenzie has already begun making a few changes to the business.
“The DoorDash will be pretty soon,” Mackenzie said. “That will probably be between three to four weeks. I'm just waiting on the equipment for it. As soon as we get that in and new point of sales (POS) systems, I'm going to do the menu changes.”
Mark and Patti are proud of how Mackenzie has picked up the reigns of the business, which has been very busy lately, according to Mackenzie.
“Mackenzie is doing a great job,” Patti said. “Business is right back where it was. She is picking up new customers, but a lot of them are regulars.”
Their other daughter, Mercedes Denny Lawrence, works as a server for the business, and they feel she makes every customer feel right at home.
“(Mercedes) offers really strong support for the waiting staff,” Patti said. “She is really outgoing and we are really proud of her.”
Dar Double and Roxann Zanicky have also been an amazing part of the wait staff, Patti said, and the business would not be the same without them.
“They went above and beyond everyday,” Patti said. “There is a bond between the customers and the wait staff, and we could not have done it without them.”
Mackenzie said the customers, most familiar faces, are the main reason she loves her job.
“Truthfully it’s the people here,” Mackenzie said. “We have a great customer base. About 70% of our customers come in everyday. We build connections with people. There is a really strong sense of community. I love being able to see customer’s reactions.”
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