BOULDER — All-American, always grilled, never fried. And no needless frills — like feta cheese.
It’s a Route 66 burger.
That’s how Randy Hinds described the hamburgers served at the landmark Tom’s Tavern.
“Honestly, who puts feta on a burger?” Hinds said. “Tom’s does it right. Not a designer burger like some of these other places at all.”
When Hinds heard the decades-old tavern would be flipping the last of its award-winning burgers Saturday, he knew he had to savor one last trip to the Pearl Street restaurant.
Many others have waited patiently in long lines for the same reason.
“Ever since people found out we were closing, business has been incredible,” said Dan Eldridge, who took over the family-run restaurant after his father, Tom, died in May. “We literally went from $1,000 days to $6,000 days.”
If the tavern had consistently pulled in half the business it has gotten since announcing closure, he said, the family might not have needed to shutter the restaurant.
Look for another restaurant to take the corner Pearl Street spot, Eldridge said.
“This was a numbers decision, not an emotional one,” Eldridge said. “None of us wanted to close down, but even my father hinted at it when he was alive. He said, ‘Everything has a life cycle, and Tom’s might be nearing the end of its cycle.’ ”
Tom Eldridge opened his first bar, the Family Tavern, in 1959 when he was 21 years old, across the street from the current tavern.
Three years later, Tom bought the building on the corner of 11th and Pearl streets and relaunched his business as Tom’s Tavern.
“Dad came to Boulder to study engineering, but that didn’t work out so well,” Dan Eldridge said. “He followed a dream that led to Tom’s but changed the name because ‘Family Tavern’ is kind of a misnomer. It was a pretty rough place.”
Born and reared Boulder natives Jeff and Becky Seacrest and Wayne Beihn said they frequented Tom’s predecessor, Walt and Hank’s, after classes at Boulder High School.
The three brought their families and waited more than 30 minutes Thursday to pay their last respects to their old hangout, but it was well worth the wait, they said.
“We were here the day Tom’s opened,” Beihn said. “The burgers are as good now as they were then, and we had to come say goodbye.”
Cassie Hewlings: 303-954-1638 or chewlings@denverpost.com
