Yet another place on my list to try:
Back on August 5th, a Monday morning the revived Red's Giant Hamburg had its first day of business, serving Springfield a "renewed experience" of Route 66 culture.
The story is... At least two dozen people gathered in front of the new building on West Sunshine Street to be among the first to try out the new Red's. When co-owner David Campbell opened the doors at 10:03 a.m., everyone rushed inside. It is said two men got into a minor shouting match when one tried to cut in line.
I guess in a city that loves it's nostalgia, a revival is serious business.
Co-owner David Campbell proudly states the new Red's can fit 122 people and has 50 employees. In fact the new building is eight times larger than the Route 66 hamburger stand that inspired it, and is said to be the first diner in the United States to offer a drive-up window using an intercom speaker. However, there are some that dispute it as the first drive- thru's. Some had the belief that "Jack In The Box" had the first drive-thru.
The name contains "hamburg," not "hamburger," because a tall vertical sign carrying the whole word would have been too tall to accommodate the nearby utility wires when founder Sheldon "Red" Chaney opened the old place in the years following World War II.
Chaney told the News-Leader in the summer of 1982, two years before he retired after almost four decades in business, ("Didn't have room for the ER... Woulda had to laid on the ground.")
The old Red's building on Route 66 was demolished in May 1997 and Chaney died a few weeks later. David Campbell said he bought the brand rights more than 20 years ago from Chaney's widow, Julia Chaney, who died in 2006.
Campbell dreamed of opening a new Red's ever since. "He had the dream and business partner Greg Lott made it a reality."
After registering their Hamburg Properties company five years ago, Campbell and Lott created a new Red's menu that's "95 percent" the same as the classic one.
Now once again diners can enjoy the Sooper Redburg topped with bacon and ham. The sandwich mimics Chaney's ground-beef mix but is still within the today's health codes. Diners can even get a gluten-free vegan burger.
The new owners also own Julia Chaney's original hamburger press and had 20 replicas made to ensure the new Redburgs are made the same way as the old ones.
Chaney went about brewing his own root beer with licorice and sassafras, but that wouldn't work with today's brewing regulations, so Springfield Brewing Company provides the root beer.
Their colorful decor was created by local custom builder Mike Dobbs, who helped them obtain chandeliers from San Francisco and atomic-age furnishings from St. Louis. To my delight each table is equipped with a drive-in movie theater speaker.
They say the music is rockabilly. Campbell and Lott even own the rights to the classic "Red's" song by celebrated local band the Morells.
Local diner "Bunky Long" from Walnut Grove was on hand for the new Red's opening. He and his wife often dined at Red's when they lived in town during the '60s and '70s
Now Long's daughter is a server and cashier at the new place. Her boyfriend is a fry cook.
Long said he fondly remembered a vintage 52 or 53 Buick that Chaney parked out front of the old Red's. He remembered it as rusty and he tried to buy it from Red, but Red he wouldn't part with it. However, David Campbell confirmed that the Buick was actually a '55, which Chaney parked near the sign to keep people from backing their cars into it.
The new Red's has a replica, the sign and a polished red '55 Buick Special too!
I'm iching to try out this replica of historic "Red's Hamburg"
So... Until next time, I 'll be here salivating!
Nana
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