Retailers Ellen and Pat Determan had a problem—a good one. After years of supporting a labor-intensive prepared-food-from-scratch strategy in their Det’s Diner foodservice operation, the Determan duo had reached a critical-mass point.
“We sell 500 hamburgers and cheeseburgers on a typical Wednesday lunch period and 40 to 50 chicken breast sandwiches,” said Ellen Determan of their Lyons Filling Station in Clinton, Iowa. “That’s grown from just a few years ago when that daily output stood at around 225.”
That meant they needed to flip the script when it came to flipping burgers.
“We wanted to bolster overall time-management and program efficiency,” Determan said, “so instead of us pressing patties, we partnered with Naeve Family Beef [in Camanche, Iowa] on direct-store delivery of already-pressed patties.”
Historically, Pat Determan endured the process of thumb-pressing each of the store’s signature burgers. But the past year brought a change, in which the Determans collaborated with Naeve Family Beef to outsource the process. The decision has produced the best of both worlds, Ellen said: Naeve Family Beef not only ensures the store fulfills expectations, but that burgers come off Naeve’s line in the c-store owner’s signature recipe, made nearly legendary by a special sauce that locals rave about.
The 6-ounce burgers are priced at $4.50 and served on buns supplied by Sweetheart Bakery, also based in Clinton, Iowa.
Creating a Monster
C-store newbies when they acquired Lyons Filling Station almost 20 years ago, the Determan team established a quick and effective affinity for convenience-store operation. They became prolific at selling an array of gourmet and artisanal food fare, both inside the store and out. The couple grills food outside the premises on a seasonal basis and are considering acquiring additional property to accommodate additional patrons, Determan said.
Lyons Filling Station has long featured different food fare each day of the week. The success of Wednesday Burger Day is an offshoot from a wintertime menu that features meatloaf that day of the week. In short, people think meat or beef on Wednesdays, she said, and reflexively travel to Lyons Filling Station to satisfy their carnivorous palates.
“On Wednesday, everyone knows that we serve meatloaf meals and sandwiches during the winter. And when we switch to burgers during spring, summer and into fall, it only keeps that eating pattern going,” said Determan.
During the summer, when burgers, chicken, pork and fish are all prepared on Pat Determan’s Green Egg Smoker, “People can smell food cooking from blocks away. We like to say, ‘follow your nose to 266 Main Ave.,’ ” Determan said, referring to the store’s mailing address.
The couple is gaining a reputation to where they’ve secured numerous “People’s Choice” awards chronicled in the local Clinton newspaper for their burger quality and reasonable price point.
With success comes added demand and responsibility. The Determans are regularly approached to participate in local events that range from burger and chili cookoffs to setting up shop at local Clinton summer fairs.
“I really think that, without planning any of it, we’ve created a monster with our food. We invested so much time and effort—and thinking—into the business, and it just took off,” Determan said. “We’re staying the course on what we do daily, weekly and yearly.”
Beyond the Burger
All About Food: In addition to Wednesday burgers and meatloaf, Lyon’s Filling Station rolls out broasted chicken sandwiches served on snowflake rolls Mondays, tacos Tuesdays (what else), homemade pizza Thursdays and cod sandwich Fridays. Also on Fridays, grilling season promises shredded pork and pork-chop sandwiches prepared on the Green Egg Smoker.
The store recently unveiled a new secret weapon within food: breakfast pizza. “It sells out,” said Determan. “It’s a biscuit and gravy pizza. We take a crust, apply sausage gravy and then add sausage and mozzarella cheese. People can also take-and-bake at home.”
Quality Assurance: The Determans’ burger recipe came to them tried-and-true, when a local resident who’d owned a restaurant retired. The recipe was “legendary around here,” said Determan. “When she retired, I found her son, who offered it to us. It made a big difference with hamburger quality.” That evolved to incorporate Naeve’s manufacturing capability fused with their homemade signature recipe.
Accommodating Masses: The store’s lunch meu is available from 10 a.m. to 1 or 2 p.m., depending on the day. Det’s Diner has eating accommodations inside, but with outdoor grilling so many people line up that “most just take food to go as there’s no place to really sit outside,” Determan said. “The thing is, we don’t want people to linger too long on the property. We’re working on buying the house behind us to expand our footprint. We also expanded staff by a few workers out of necessity.”
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