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Thousands — that’s the number of Whisler’s burgers new owner Drew Evans believe he’s eaten since he was a little kid.
“I couldn’t even begin to guess,” Evans said with a grin. He ate them as a kid growing up and he ate even more of them during all those open lunch periods while attending Carthage High School.
Now, the 2001 CHS grad finds himself standing on the other side of the counter.
“I took over on Jan. 1 (2010) and this has been like a childhood dream,” he said Monday afternoon.
Whisler’s is an absolute Carthage landmark, he continued. “I could absolutely not pass up an opportunity to be a part of it.”
Whisler’s was one of three hamburger joints found in Carthage when it opened in 1953. The two others are long gone, faded quietly into the city’s history books.
“And we’re still here,” Evans said. “Quality paid off.”
Q: First off — tell me how your feelings about owning your favorite childhood restaurant?
A:“I was scared to death,” Evans admitted. “I can not fail. If I did, I’d be run out of town.”
Q: Any tweaks to those mouthwatering burgers?
A: Evans said he wanted the taste of the burgers to be what they used to be, when Charlie Whisler first established what soon would become a Route 66 must-stop in the early 1950s.
“I wanted to go back to as close as absolute possible the original burger as I could get it,” he said.
He spent numerous hours interviewing those concerning the burger’s secret seasoning.
“The last thing I wanted to do was change the taste,” Evans said.
Fresh meat is also a key — no frozen patties here. He receives his freshly pressed patties each morning from Worden’s Meats of Joplin.
“There’s a very distinctive flavor” to the burgers, he said. “I wanted it back to the way it used to be.”
It would have been more profitable for Evans to go with the more traditional cold, frozen patties and whatnot, “but we definitely want to put the best product out there, and I think we’ve done that.”
Q: Why no fries or onion rings along with those great burgers?
A: “That’s a kickback to the 1950s,” Evans said. “When Charlie had it, he was very particular about his grill. The only thing he cooked on that grill was his famous burgers. The extras, chips and drinks, were found outside the grilling area.”
Thousands — that’s the number of Whisler’s burgers new owner Drew Evans believe he’s eaten since he was a little kid.
“I couldn’t even begin to guess,” Evans said with a grin. He ate them as a kid growing up and he ate even more of them during all those open lunch periods while attending Carthage High School.
Now, the 2001 CHS grad finds himself standing on the other side of the counter.
“I took over on Jan. 1 (2010) and this has been like a childhood dream,” he said Monday afternoon.
Whisler’s is an absolute Carthage landmark, he continued. “I could absolutely not pass up an opportunity to be a part of it.”
Whisler’s was one of three hamburger joints found in Carthage when it opened in 1953. The two others are long gone, faded quietly into the city’s history books.
“And we’re still here,” Evans said. “Quality paid off.”
Q: First off — tell me how your feelings about owning your favorite childhood restaurant?
A:“I was scared to death,” Evans admitted. “I can not fail. If I did, I’d be run out of town.”
Q: Any tweaks to those mouthwatering burgers?
A: Evans said he wanted the taste of the burgers to be what they used to be, when Charlie Whisler first established what soon would become a Route 66 must-stop in the early 1950s.
“I wanted to go back to as close as absolute possible the original burger as I could get it,” he said.
He spent numerous hours interviewing those concerning the burger’s secret seasoning.
“The last thing I wanted to do was change the taste,” Evans said.
Fresh meat is also a key — no frozen patties here. He receives his freshly pressed patties each morning from Worden’s Meats of Joplin.
“There’s a very distinctive flavor” to the burgers, he said. “I wanted it back to the way it used to be.”
It would have been more profitable for Evans to go with the more traditional cold, frozen patties and whatnot, “but we definitely want to put the best product out there, and I think we’ve done that.”
Q: Why no fries or onion rings along with those great burgers?
A: “That’s a kickback to the 1950s,” Evans said. “When Charlie had it, he was very particular about his grill. The only thing he cooked on that grill was his famous burgers. The extras, chips and drinks, were found outside the grilling area.”
Question = Hours?
Answer = There’s new extended hours to incorporate the home-from-work crowd with a hunger for Whisler’s. Hours are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays. Under the previous ownership, doors closed at 4 p.m.
Question = Plans to branch out any time soon?
Answer = “Nothing concrete (concerning franchising), but there’s always that possibility,” he said.
There’s actually a second Whisler’s franchise location located in downtown Springfield. It even has its own Facebook page.
A 90-year-old man recently came to the restaurant, ate a burger and praised Evans with tears in his eyes.
“He said it immediately brought back the flavors of the way Charlie used to make it, and that Charlie would be proud of my burgers,” Evans said. “That’s probably the best compliment I’ve ever had.”
