I've gotten this question more than a few times when involved in discussions or debates (mostly about politics) over the last 15 years that I've run the ol' burger shop.

 And, I mean, what can I say?  I am a burger-flipper.   No point in trying to deny that or elevate myself above my stature.  Better to maybe change the mindset about what it means to be a burger-flipper.  

I've always thought of myself as being pretty smart.  I did well in school mostly without really trying and goofing off a lot, yet I still got good grades through HS and college.  I was always a little shocked when people would tell me how I was smart because I just felt normal.  At some points in school, I tried to downplay being in AP classes or to hide getting a good grade from other kids because I worried they would think I wasn't cool.  Silly, right?

I went to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign after HS, from '87-'91.  I graduated with a Political Science degree. My intention going into school was to study politics, which I was always interested in, as a precursor to going to law school, but at some point I lost interest in pursuing a career as an attorney.

Since I was enjoying my time at school and liked what I was studying, though, and since I didn't really know what I wanted to do, changing course halfway through didn't make a lot of sense, so I decided to finish up my four years, graduate, and then figure it out.

I worked a few restaurant jobs along the way and eventually, I ended up going to culinary school nights and weekends while working a day job and that's how I ended up here.  

Flipping burgers.   Managing burger flippers flipping burgers, at least.

The irony, of course, of a guy with a BS in Political Science flipping burgers for a living is multi-faceted.  Is it a indictment of the failed liberal arts college educational system?  Maybe.  I've never held a job that I needed my degree to get or do.  But I also wouldn't be the same person that I am if I hadn't gotten my degree.  Most of my fiercely-held personal values come from what I studied during that time and all the thinking I did around everything I was reading;  Voltaire, Vonnegut, Locke, Rousseau, Robbins, Kerouac, Kundera, Kesey, Plato, Socrates.  I was grappling with the big abstract issues like human nature and the meaning of life.

Those formative years when I was doing all that Big Thinking informs every decision I make today and every process or policy involved in making the restaurant run day to day.  How I treat people, the choices I make of what items to purchase, which vendors to use, how much time and labor cost I choose to spend on one task or another...all of those things contain thousands of tiny decisions made or options taken every day that draw from the institutional belief systems I internally wrote for myself back then.

That's a big part of why I love what I do so much.  Because I have the opportunity to live my personal values and principles out through my work.  It's a blessing--a luxury, even--that I do not take for granted.  

The hackneyed cliche of citing "burger flippers" as the go-to example of minimum wage mindless drone entry-level workers and being a job that anyone with a working pulse can get and do isn't going away.   I've made my peace with hearing it tossed out.  And, sure, it's an easy 'dis in a debate about politics when things get heated with someone who knows what I do for a living.    

 I'll take it.  Burger-flipper and lifetime seeker of knowledge extraordinaire here!   Still grappling with and trying to understand the Big Questions of Life.  I may not ever figure it all out, but at least I'll eat good while I'm trying!

Read More 3 comments | Posted by Eddie Lakin

originally written 12/21/2024

The last week of business was wild in a lot of different ways.  So many customers who came through were long time regulars who showed up for that last experience before we closed up shop.  At some point, I started just assuming that everyone who showed up was there for that reason.  

"Hello," I said to one group, "glad you guys could make it in one last time.  What's that one menu item you'll miss the most?"

Only to be met by blank stares.  "Can we see a menu?  Do you have soup?  We've never been here before."

D'oh!  Nothing like a little dose of reality to knock me back to earth.  Not everyone knows your whole career and life story, self-centered guy.  Lesson learned.  Another shot of karmic humility administered and received.

At one point, a guy came through, Ron.  ordered a bunch of food, and then asked to use a coupon he had gotten through a text message marketing service I tried toward the end as a desperate attempt to try to stoke a bit more business.  I kind of assumed he didn't know we were closing up, given the context, but then he made a point of telling me that he wanted to make sure he used the coupon before we closed, so he didn't miss his chance to cash in on it.

It felt pretty tone-deaf to me.  Then again, I'm self-centered guy as noted above.  And for Ron, this was more about his opportunity to save $5 than it was the end of the 15-year run of my eponymous restaurant.  So, sure.  Going out on a positive note.  Taking the high road.  Coupon applied, sir!  Thanks for your business. 

The best, though, was a guy named Joe.  

Joe and his friends came through, each ordering separately.  We talked about the restaurant closing, their past visits, how it felt like the end of an era.  Joe waited and ordered last.  When he was about to order, his face got all scrunched up like he was getting upset.  He clearly needed to say something.

"I'm sorry!" he blurted, "I used to come here like twice a week and then Covid hit and now I work from home and I haven't been back here since.  I feel like it's all my fault that you guys are closing!"

His friends were silent.  They looked at him, then at me, waiting for my response.  I looked down at the POS screen, absorbing Joe's confession,  trying to figure out what to say.   I took a deep breath and allowed a long sigh to come out slowly.

Looking up, keeping my face serious I said "so YOU'RE the one!  You destroyed the economy, you and everyone like you!  Damn you to hell!"

I was kidding, of course.  But also, kind of not.  We did, I believe, close due to the whole working-from-home phenomenon that has changed the economic landscape in so many areas that depended on office worker business.   I kept expecting people to finally one day come back to the offices and stream off the el and the metra every morning the the way they used to, but it may never happen.

Obviously, it's not Joe's fault.  Or the fault of any one person.  So, Joe, you're off the hook.  I don't blame you.  All the customers who now can't get their garlic fries or char burger anymore don't blame you either.

....not entirely, at least.

So of course when I rang up Joe for his double cheeseburger, fries, and Oreo shake I made a big show of it and announced, "that'll be $322,032.43 please!"

Read More 0 comments | Posted by Eddie Lakin