LHB/Voice-Tribune: Home Run Burgers slams a base hit

[Robin Garr]

Louisville HotBytes.com in The Voice-Tribune

Drive in to Home Run Burgers & Fries on impulse, and you might initially assume that you've found your way to yet another franchised burger chain.

It has the look of a fast-casual burger chain, and I say that respectfully: Bright colors, professional decor with a distinct baseball theme, and an extensive burgers-or-fried-fish menu designed for efficiency and value.

What's more, they're running on a fast expansion plan, with additional properties planned for later this summer in St. Matthews (Shelbyville Road Plaza) this autumn, and Middletown (Middletown Station) around the end of the year.

There's a reason why this locally owned and operated outfit is running well right out of the box. According to an earlier version of their Website ( http://homerunburger.com ), Bob Kiper, whose daughter, Kathy Scannell, is general manger of Home Run Burger & Fries, operated the popular local Hungry Pelican restaurant chain from the 1950s through the late 1980s.

Based on our first look at this new venture, they've got another winner. Enter the sizable shopping-center space, find your way to the ordering station and registers on the left, then swing around, dispense your own fountain drink (beer is also available) and wait for your number to be called.

Befitting the establishment's ties with the National Pastime, mural-size photos of major league stars adorn on the blue and white walls. Major league pennants hang above the serving counter, and a couple of flat-screen televisions offer sports on ESPN. A side room with video games makes a good place to take youngsters.

Golden oldies take us back to the '60s and so, frankly, does the food. My burger summoned happy memories of local drive-in favorites Frisch's Big Boy and Bob Colglazier's Ranch House.

It's a quality burger indeed, the restaurant asserts, fashioned from fresh corn-fed, never frozen Black Angus-brand beef with no added hormones or antibiotics. Potatoes are fried in peanut oil with no cholesterol or trans fats. Codfish comes from the North Pacific, good news for "green" diners who prefer to avoid the over-fished North Atlantic species.

Read the complete report on LouisvilleHotBytes.com.

Home Run Burgers & Fries
2060 S. Hurstbourne Pkwy.
409-7004
http://homerunburger.com

Visit the Voice-Tribune Website.

Robin, THANKS for the kind words, we deeply appreciate it.

We do have a Tip Jar on the front counter, our employees are sorry you missed their Jar. With that said, we are going to add another Tip Jar to the Pick Up counter, the employees Thank You for the second jar.

[Robin Garr]

Bob, for what it's worth, I mentioned to the employee on the register that without a credit card slip, there was no easy way to tip, and she just said,"Oh, don't worry about it." I wish she had pointed out the tip jar.

We'll tip double next time we're in ...

Robin, THANKS for the kind words, we deeply appreciate it.

We do have a Tip Jar on the front counter, our employees are sorry you missed their Jar. With that said, we are going to add another Tip Jar to the Pick Up counter, the employees Thank You for the second jar.

Great burger - had my first a few days ago and really enjoyed it. Friendly staff, very clean place, good menu selections and I love the malt vinegar option! Well done Bob and team!

By the title, I thought it was going to be a negative review. But, I'm not good with baseball references.

[Robin Garr]

By the title, I thought it was going to be a negative review. But, I'm not good with baseball references.

I can see what you're saying, but I didn't really mean it negatively. After all, a baseball player is doing well if he hits successfully just three out of every 10 times at bat. Home Run Burgers did a lot better than that ...

Shannon, some of my friends thought the same as you did about the headline. But in baseball, a hit is hard to get--just like in the food business. We will continue to work hard, trying to make our Burgers and Fries a Hit everytime we are at bat. Thanks, again Robin.

This title was curious to me also, maybe not one of Robin's clearest . You see "slams" and you expect to see "homerun". Maybe it could've been "Home Run Burgers is a hit" or something like that.

How 'bout "HRB gets a base hit" or "HRB swings for a base hit."

[Robin Garr]

It's a newspaper headline, guys! The moving finger writes, and having writ, moves on ...