Wednesday, May 15, 2024
Grump’s Burgers celebrated its 20th anniversary of serving Hood County on Dec. 27.
Principal/partner of Grumps, Collier Albright, said he didn’t think the burger joint would make it six weeks, much less 20 years. From its grand opening in 2002 to six locations in 2022, Grumps is now becoming its own franchise.
A single “off-the-cuff” comment led to a career change and a business endeavor that changed one man’s life forever.
Collier Albright was in his late 30s and working in consumer finance when he made an offhand remark that he would “rather flip burgers than do this.”
"(The comment) kind of took hold, and I started thinking it through,” he said. “I wanted a change of scenery, because I didn't enjoy the corporate world.”
Albright spoke his future into existence, and the corporate-worker-turned-restaurant-owner has now been serving as principal/partner of Grumps Burgers in Granbury with his managing partner Todd Riley for two decades.
But no one is as shocked about the burger joint’s longevity as much as Albright is himself.
“There when we first opened, I didn't think we'd be open six weeks, so we've exceeded that goal. We didn't know what we were doing and honestly, some days we still don't, so as long as we fake it and y'all think we're doing OK, then sign it done,” he said, with a chuckle.
Grumps’ unique name is partly inspired by Albright’s grandfather, whom he called “Gramps.”
"When we were trying to put it all together, I thought that Grumps might be a better long-term fit and more marketable, but it's still in his honor,” he said.
Albright said that due to the name, Grumps, he’s had some customers mistake the burger joint to being similar to Dick’s Last Resort in Dallas, where the staff is known for being obnoxious and rude.
“Somedays we are grumpy, so we kind of fit the mold. It depends on which employee you talk to, also,” he said, chuckling.
Grumps is well known for its delicious burgers. In fact, TripAdvisor named Grumps as the “#4 Burger Restaurant in America” in July 2018, the “Best Burger Restaurant in Texas” in August 2018, and as the “2020 Traveler’s Choice Winner.”
When asked how Albright would describe the atmosphere of his burger joint, Albright simply said, “Grumps is community.”
“We started this thing where service and a community approach were very important and high on our priority list, and we wanted to do that in all of our markets,” he said. “We have six (markets) now, and we believe that community involvement is critical. It's not just good business; it really is the right thing to do, and our community presence is something that we're proud of."
Grumps opened its Granbury location in 2002, followed by the Stephenville location in 2007, Burleson in 2011, Cleburne in 2013, Abilene in 2019 and the River Oaks location in May of this year.
"There's a lot of moving parts, and honestly, if I didn't know all the moving parts, I wouldn't have done it,” Albright said, on opening Grumps. “I was kind of naive. I didn't think it would be that hard. We had 16 seats at the original Granbury store, and now on a busy night, we can have 300 people total between all three of our areas. Every year we learn, and every year we grow a little bit. It's a slow growth, but it's a conservative approach. We've done pretty well over the last 20 years.”
Grumps' most unique and “most highly touted” burger, according to Albright, is the Queso burger, which originated in 2005 at the Grumps location in Stephenville.
"It's been featured on The Texas Bucket List (television show) and written up in some publications,” Albright said. “It started with the Tarleton (State University) football team. We didn't offer that burger, and they kept getting a burger with a side of queso, and they started dumping it on there, so that’s where it originated. It is a basic hamburger served on a jalapeno bun, and we take our homemade queso and literally just dump it over the top — it's like a chili burger except with queso.”
Albright said the most rewarding aspect of Grumps has been the people.
“It's our customers. It's our staff. It's cliche to say, ‘work family,’ but man, I mean, we go to weddings, we've been to funerals. These people become very close to us, and so do our customers,” Albright said. “We have customers that have followed us all over the state, and now we're seeing kids of people that used to be kids when they came in and ate with their parents, and now they're bringing their kids in. Our employees are now having their kids start to work for us. It's really cool, and that's really probably the most rewarding thing.”
Riley recalled a unique story about a customer who later became an employee. A boy first visited Grumps when he was 12 years old, soon became a “Grumps regular,” and is now the general manager at one of their locations.
Some of Grumps’ staff members — like manager Shevin Schmitt — have worked for the burger joint for more than a decade.
“We have a cook in Granbury who has been with us almost 18 years, Cowboy John. Now that’s some dedication,” Schmitt said, who has worked for Grumps for 13 years.
She recently asked several staff members why they love Grumps, and some responses were “we feel important here,” “it’s like a family,” “it’s a very close-knit work group,” and “Collier and Todd truly care about each and every one of us.”
“I love everything about Grumps, so it's hard to pick just one aspect,” Schmitt said. “The food, of course, is one of my top faves, but I also love the culture, values and camaraderie that is found here. It's so hard to find a company that values you as an employee and person, and I'm so fortunate to be a part of it all.”
Albright said that two years ago, he started the process of making Grumps Burgers “franchisable.”
"I don't see us opening another corporate store anytime soon, but we're kind of shifting our energies to the franchising side,” he said. “We have a couple of people in the pipeline on that side that we're excited to try to get open in 2023 and kind of see more franchises in Texas in this next 20-year chapter.”
The burger joint officially celebrated its 20-year anniversary on Dec. 27, and Albright said he is excited to see what the next 20 years have in store for Grumps Burgers.
“We've got some really strong young people in the company that have worked for us for a while, like Shevin," he said. "These people have really dedicated a lot of time and energy into the company. I'm really excited about the franchising piece, and kind of reinventing the wheel and moving in a different direction. It's a totally new business, but still has the Grumps foundation, so I'm really excited about the future of that.”
The Grumps Granbury location is at 3503 E. U.S. Highway 377, open from 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Monday through Saturday. and closed on Sunday.
For more information, go online to grumpsburgers.com.
