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| Order Up! Alumnus-owned burger shop welcomes student customers |
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| Written by Sara Pintilie, The Shorthorn staff | ||||
| Wednesday, 03 February 2010 05:47 PM | ||||
  Tom Jones owner of Tom’s Burgers and Grill welcomes costumers to enjoy a nostalgic meal at reasonable prices in his 50’s style eatery. The restaurant in located off of I-30 and Cooper and can be identified as the two toned silver and red dinner. (The Shorthorn: Will LaVoncher) Walking around Prague, alumnus Tom Jones realized there weren’t any good burger places. He opened Tom’s Burgers and Grill in 2006 in Arlington to get stateside experience but decided he wouldn’t go abroad with his burgers. He loved working here too much. But before burgers, came engineering. Jones graduated in 2003 with a mechanical engineering degree. “I wanted to learn about how things work,” he said. “Why the sky was blue. Why the grass was green.” He went on to be an engineer for two years. During vacation, he said he would be lying on the beach or elsewhere, dreaming of opening a burger stand. He left his job in 2006 and opened his restaurant six weeks later in June. Tom’s Burgers and Grill is located off Cooper, right next to I-30. The building is easily identified by its shiny silver exterior. Inside, two-toned furniture and a bar with stools occupy the layout, giving the restaurant a 1950s feel, down to the oldies music. Kylie Hartman, server and nursing junior, said the décor is fun. Sometimes the staff gets to dress up in poodle skirts and other vintage apparel, she said. And on the second Saturday of each month, people show off their classic cars in the parking lot. Hartman has worked there for 11 months and said she loves the environment and good food. “It’s decently priced,” she continued. “Close to campus. Great food. Free beer.” Because Tom’s doesn’t have a liquor license and already has a keg on the premises for his beer-battered onion rings, Jones decided to give away beer, two glasses per customer. “I didn’t want someone not to come because they wanted beer with their burger,” he said. “So I give them a beer.” Tom said he takes pride in his burgers, even driving to different places to try what D Magazine claimed as the best. “We would try all the best stuff,” He said. “And try to make it better. Everything we do, down to layering, has been thought about.”  A menu specialty the bacon cheeseburger with a side order of onion rings. Tom’s cannot sell alcohol but since the onion rings require them to have a keg for the homemade batter, the restaurant will serve a maximum of two beers free of charge. (The Shorthorn: Will LaVoncher) He also created a recipe for the chicken-fried steak batter. “The first time you come, try a burger,” he said. “The next, try the chicken-fried steak.” Along with classic food, Tom’s offers breakfast all day. Tom excitingly shows off his breakfast menu and boasts about being the only one in Arlington awarded five golden eggs at mrbreakfast.com. Tom loves getting to know these regulars and giving his employees stability. “What I enjoy the most is being able to provide a life for my employees,” he said. Tom’s also has a UTA discount — 10 percent. “I want to see more UTA kids here,” Jones said. Views: 475 | E-mail
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| Last Updated ( Wednesday, 03 February 2010 06:21 PM ) | ||||
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