I Celebrated National Cheeseburger Day With a Texas Burger Legend

Yesterday, September 18, was National Cheeseburger Day, and I got the great idea to celebrate by going and buying one of my favorite cheeseburgers in West Texas. For a one-and-only classic and favorite of West Texans, I went to Larry's Better Burger Drive-In, where you can still buy a burger, fries and drink for under eight bucks.

When Larry's first opened in Abilene around 1952, it was known as the Better Burger Stand on Magnolia Street. Shortly after, the street name changed to Treadaway, and Larry Olney, the owner of what is known today as Larry's Better Burgers, took over and has been running it as a family-owned business since 1967.

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Larry said, "As I recall in 1967 we were charging 35 cents per burger, or you could purchase four burgers for one dollar. We wanted to be affordable so that everybody could enjoy a good old-fashioned hamburger without breaking the bank." That same principle applies today as you can still purchase a large hamburger with fries and a drink for only $7.50.

If you're trying to feed the family, Larry's offers four large burgers for only $16 or six small burgers for $16. But if you're in the mood for a quick lunch, a large burger, fries and a drink is only $7.50. What really captured my attention was the flavor of their ketchup; it is amazing, incredible, fantastic, and I'm in love with it.

I went looking for the ketchup packets to see what brand they were. Lo and behold, Larry's still carries a 50-year-old favorite Red Gold. The most amazing part is when you read on the tiny packet of Red Gold ketchup: "Red Gold Ketchup with a Cause, benefiting Folds of Honor". Folds of Honor is a non-profit organization that provides educational scholarships to families of fallen and disabled military service members and first responders.

So, by celebrating National Cheeseburger Day, I not only got to enjoy an age-old classic that is still made the same way, and by the same person for the last 50 years, but my purchase in a micro-tiny way helped support Folds of Honor. By the way, my cheeseburger with French fries and onion rings was awesome. Happy belated National Cheeseburger Day, y'all. Larry's Better Burgers accepts cash only.