It comes down to quality, tradition and Cleburne pride, Morris Neal’s Handy Hamburgers’ new owner John Ainsworth said Friday morning as he loaded the day’s fresh beef shipment into a cooler while singing along to the Temptations and Beach Boys.
Which, Ainsworth assured, means Cleburnites and visitors alike can expect the same great food that’s made Morris Neal’s a dining destination for nearly 90 years.
“Sometimes people buy a business and think they want to fix something,” Ainsworth said. “But there’s nothing broke here. As far as our food, no changes at all. No change to the grill or the great customer service. Fresh ground beef is important everyday here. That’s how it’s always been and always will be.”
Former owner Johnnie Jordan will remain on deck as well.
“Johnnie loves the customers and still wants to be a part of things so she’s going to keep working here three or four days a week,” Ainsworth said. “She sold because she still wanted to be involved but also scale back on the work of ownership. But we’ve gotten very close to her and definitely want her to continue to be part of Morris Neal’s.”
Restaurant Manager Cathy Martin also returned in January having previously worked for Jordan in earlier years.
Ainsworth — he and his wife, Ronda Ainsworth, bought the storied Cleburne eatery a couple of months ago from Jordan — said his arrival doesn’t preclude changes but said he believes his plans include changes the community will applaud.
“We’re working with the city right now to expand our dining room and add a back deck so we’ll have more seating,” Ainsworth said. “Once we get that done we plan to extend our hours. We want to be here for moms and dads who have to work but want to take their families out to eat after work.
“Right now we’re sitting in August and we have people willing to stand out by our takeout window. We appreciate that. But we want people to be able to come in, sit down and enjoy.”
James Ainsworth, father of Morris Neal’s Handy Hamburgers’ owner John Ainsworth, places his order with restaurant manager Cathy Martin.
Another change involves the restaurant’s long standing cash only policy.
“In this generation that’s probably kept people away,” Ainsworth said. “So we’ve began accepting credit and debit cards now. I can’t believe how many people I’ve heard tell me, ‘Oh my word. I’ll come down there now.’”
Expansion will also include family friendly games, Cleburne Yellow Jackets memorabilia and the occasional vintage car nights.
Although Morris Neal’s long-standing menu of burgers, chicken sandwiches, BLTs and hot dogs will remain unchanged ice cream and floats may soon join the bill of fare. Morris Neal’s hat are for sale now. T-shirts are coming soon.
“I want us to be that good-old-days ’50s diner atmosphere,” Ainsworth said. “Keep us something unique to Cleburne and something Cleburne can be proud of.”
The Ainsworths are the fourth owners since Neal began selling hamburgers, originally in a downtown alleyway lean to before moving the restaurant to its current Mill Street location in the ’50s.
Ainsworth, a 1988 Cleburne High School graduate, said he grew up on Morris Neal’s.
“My dad, James Ainsworth, had an upholstery shop in that rust-colored building right across the way when I was a kid,” Ainsworth said. “He’d pick me up from Coleman Elementary and always give me some snack money. So I’d walk over here and buy a bag of chips and a bottle of Dr Pepper and Morris Neal would always take a piece of bubble gum and put it behind his back and make me pick which hand it was in. That’s how I got started with Morris Neal’s and just kept coming here through the years.”
James Ainsworth laughed while recalling those days.
“I’ve been here since ’72 and everybody has a Morris Neal story,” James Ainsworth said. “I had a guy at the shop who never had much money so I said, ‘Morris, just go ahead and feed him. Put it on a tab and I’ll pay it.’
“So I was down there one day and Morris said, ‘James, you really need to take care of this guy’s tab.’
“I asked him how much it was and he said, ‘It’s almost up to $20.’”
John Ainsworth moved away after high school for about 20 years during which time he founded Advance Battery Co., a company that grew to multiple locations throughout the state. Ainsworth moved back to Cleburne about seven years ago soon after he opened an Advance Battery location in Burleson. He sold that in November.
“We’d been living in San Antonio for 13 years at that time and our youngest child was in second grade at the time,” Ainsworth said. “We didn’t have any family down there so we decided to move back to Cleburne. I wanted that smaller town where you have one high school and all the kids going to school together, a lot of them go to church together.
“People know each other, the parents know each other. It’s just that different feel of small community you’re not going to find in San Antonio. And it’s those memories of when I was a kid being involved in 4-H, playing football, in the choir and those sort of things. So it’s been good to come back.”
Ainsworth chuckles remembering the first time he brought his wife to eat at Morris Neal’s.
“I told her, ‘Honey, I hate to tell you, but if this place ever comes up for sale I’m gonna buy it,’” Ainsworth said.
Not long after, Ainsworth’s nephew, Ryan Stepp, former CHS assistant baseball coach and current Wheat Middle School assistant principal, phoned his uncle.
“He said, ‘You’re not going to believe this. Morris Neal’s is for sale.’” Ainsworth said. “So I came down, talked to Johnnie and told her my Morris Neal stories and memories and how I think Morris Neal’s is a historic, nostalgic part of Cleburne and how I want to keep that tradition going and make sure it’s here for the next generations.”
Not long after, Ainsworth and his wife took ownership.
Ainsworth turns to ask Martin how many Morris Neal stories she hears from customers each day.
“Several,” Martin replied. “We always hear them.”
Which is part of the fun Martin and Ainsworth agreed.
“It’s been real nice being back and the community have accepted me and Ronda as the new owners,” Ainsworth said. “And I love just sitting here visiting with folks. We have people coming from Dallas to eat a burger here. We have people who are not from here anymore but still come back. Just yesterday we had a couple in here from California.
“They grew up here and are here visiting family and said they made it a point to come here to eat because they remember eating here as kids. It’s crazy. I pulled up this morning and there’s a cement truck out front and there’s Cathy taking a burger out to him at 9:30 in the morning.
“But it’s been a lot of fun. One of my goals is to do like [Loaf’N Dog owner Casey Waits] has done and get involved in the community. He’s done a great job just like Plaza Theatre and a lot of other people down here.”
With that, Ainsworth greets an already familiar customer as she walks in the door with a friend in tow. That customer, Cleburne resident Nena Cole, said she’s been a Morris Neal’s regular for two years or so.
“They’re just delicious,” Cole replies when asked why. “They’re homemade, of course and taste different, better, than any other burger. I come here about once a week actually.
Cole’s friend, Chantal Poulin, who moved to Cleburne about five months ago, was on hand to enjoy her first Morris Neal’s experience.
“Nena told me about this place and said I have to try it,” Poulin said. “I’m from Connecticut and love the little hamburger stands and mom and pop places so I’m excited.”
Morris Neal’s Handy Hamburgers, 200 S. Mill St., is open 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
For information, call 817-556-6464.
The Link LonkAugust 23, 2020 at 06:00PM
https://ift.tt/3go6C6z
Fresh beef still king; Morris Neal's burger tradition lives on through new owners - Cleburne Times-Review
https://ift.tt/2RxTDX4
Beef
No comments:
Post a Comment