“We’re not real inventive, but it doesn’t seem to matter because people keep coming back,” said co-owner Jennifer Gladstone. “People don’t want us to change.”

On a recent Tuesday evening, members of the restaurant staff were busy flipping juicy beef patties on the grill for customers dining inside. A tiny yet mighty menu featured seven burgers (plus a steak sandwich, chicken sandwich and kid’s corndog), all priced under $10. After customers place their orders, they take a seat at one of the four tables lined against the large storefront window.

Among the restaurant’s top sellers is the giant cheeseburger combo, prepared with the works — mayonnaise, mustard, lettuce, fresh tomatoes and a slice of onion served on a pillowy bun — but the real showstopper is the thick beef patty that’s ground in house the same way it has been since the 1970s.

“We grind our hamburger every morning … and that’s how we’ve been able to stay in business with all these other places,” Gladstone said. “We don’t add any kind of flavorings to [the beef]. We quit salting things a long time ago.”

A taste of old-school nostalgia   

When it’s my turn to order, I scan the letter board menu and select the giant cheeseburger combo with grilled onions (added upon request), fries and a drink for a total of $10.64. While I wait, I feel nostalgic as I spot the green-and-white checkerboard floor tiles and a retro gumball machine positioned near the main entrance. Before long, someone calls out, “Number 4!” and I realize my order is up. Another perk: fast service.

(Douglas Zimmerman, SFGATE)
(Douglas Zimmerman, SFGATE)

I quickly remove the yellow wrapping paper around my burger and take a huge bite. I instantly feel like I’m sitting in someone’s backyard enjoying barbecue on a hot summer day. Bud’s Giant Burgers isn’t heavy-handed with its veggies or condiments. If the burger were a play, the minimal layers of cheese, mustard, grilled onions and lettuce would be supporting actors as the thick patty takes center stage. The patty is juicy and has a slight smokiness that I wasn’t expecting.     

Staff members at Bud’s Giant Burgers ground beef daily and then scoop meat onto a patty-molding machine for faster production. The restaurant hand-cuts russet Burbank potatoes that are deep-fried in shortening. They’re soft, greasy and liberally stuffed into the cup. I take a sip of sweet root beer to help balance the meal. 

Gladstone credits her former boss and restaurant namesake for the current food offerings. Albert Hanley, whose nickname was Bud, crafted the simple menu from day one and later added items like the steak sandwich made with beef tenderloin and grilled onions on a French roll. He also came up with the double burger that’s served on a long bun. The patties are positioned next to each other rather than stacked. Gladstone and co-owner Steven Blankenship have mostly left the menu untouched, save for the prices, which have stealthily increased over the years.

Before Gladstone became a part owner of Bud’s Giant Burgers in 1996, she was a regular customer. Gladstone loved eating at Bud’s Giant Burgers as a teenager and recalls the frequent trips she, her parents and her grandmother would take to the Vallejo restaurant. On those visits, she would order a now-defunct menu item: the junior burger, which was made with a smaller patty than the burgers served today.

“I loved eating there because all I used to eat when I was a kid was burgers and fries. I wouldn’t eat anything else,” Gladstone said.

At 17, an ex-boyfriend’s sister asked Gladstone if she wanted to take a job at Bud’s Giant Burger, and she promptly agreed — not realizing that one day she would hold the reins to the burger institution. Gladstone describes her former boss as a funny and generous man who lucked out when he signed the lease to the space in a whopping $1 deal in 1973. Business was slow going at first until a reporter at the Times-Herald wrote a rave review in 1979 that changed everything.   

“I got to work on a Tuesday afternoon, and there was a line of people out the door, which had never happened before,” Gladstone recalled. “So, that article is really what made the business take off.”

The day after Christmas in 1996, one of the fryers caught fire and put Bud’s Giant Burgers out of commission. After assessing the damages, Hanley wasn’t sure he would be able to reopen since his insurance only covered $15,000 in losses. He had a secondary Bud’s Giant Burgers in Sacramento, though that business wasn’t nearly as popular. Gladstone didn’t want to see the original restaurant go, so she borrowed $15,000 from her parents while Blankenship, who was also a former employee, pitched in $5,000 to help reopen Bud’s. The move helped Gladstone and Blankenship buy into the restaurant, and by 1997, Bud’s Giant Burgers reopened once more. Meanwhile, Bud’s Giant Burgers in Sacramento closed that same year.

“When we were able to open again, we had absolutely no money,” Gladstone said of the Vallejo outpost. “I had to ask the meat company if they would front us until we got back on our feet. But the first day we reopened, we made $1,200, so we were able to pay the meat company and everything else the following week.”

(Douglas Zimmerman, SFGATE)
(Douglas Zimmerman, SFGATE)

After Hanley’s death in the late 1990s and his wife’s passing in 2003, Gladstone and Blankenship became the sole owners. Many staff members have also stayed on board for decades and have helped carry on the Bud’s Giant Burger legacy. Gladstone said that she couldn’t do it without them, especially during hard times. 

Last year, a driver crashed their vehicle into Bud’s Giant Burgers. The crash claimed the life of the driver, but no one else was hurt in the crash. In the comments of a Facebook post, Bud’s shared, “We can use everyone’s support. Just come grab a burger or 2… it all helps.” 

As trendier restaurants have taken up shop around the county, Bud’s Giant Burgers remains a no-fuss spot that doesn’t have to try to impress would-be customers. The burger joint has been at the cornerstone of fond memories for many locals in the area. Not long ago, a customer who moved to Washington, D.C., made a special trip to Bud’s Giant Burgers and shared his immense love for the restaurant with Gladstone.

“I felt like a star because he was so thrilled that I was still there and that the place was still there,” Gladstone said. “Makes it feel like it’s all worth it.”

Bud’s Giant Burgers, 3849 Sonoma Blvd., Vallejo. Open Monday through Saturday, 10:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m., Sunday, 10:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m.