Wagner’s Drive-In in Brooklyn Park Receives ‘Best Burger’ Award
For nearly 40 years, Brooklyn Park has been home to Wagner’s Drive-In Restaurant.
“They’re the best burgers in town,” said Kerry McMahon, a customer. “And onion rings and fries.”
This place is a symbol of a bygone era when drive-in restaurants reigned supreme.
“It was a gathering place,” said owner Jim Wagner of drive-in restaurants. “People would come up and meet their neighbors to come and get a snack.”
Wagner say she’s seen plenty of things change over the years, but there’s one thing that’s remained constant at the Brooklyn Park institution — the burgers.
“It’s not really tweaked,” Wagner said of the recipe. “We came up with, basically, a good recipe for the burgers and we always do them fresh.”
It’s one of the reasons why people keep coming back, year after year, decade after decade.
One of the award-winning burgers at Wagner’s Drive-In. The restaurant is located at 7000 W Broadway Avenue in Brooklyn Park.
“You’ve got the wrangler burger, the mushroom and Swiss, all the way down to patty melts and on and on,” said McMahon, the customer. “There’s always something for everybody.”
Customers aren’t the only ones who’ve noticed. Earlier this month, in a survey of locally-owned businesses by National Media Restaurant Surveys USA, Wagner’s was singled out as having the “best burgers.”
The Wagner’s Drive-In ‘Secret’
Wagner says he uses a higher quality grade of beef and he trains his staff to properly season the burgers and cook them to perfection.
“The cooks here are not taught to flip it every five seconds,” Wagner said. “They pretty much put it down on the grill, leave it alone for approximately four or five minutes, and then flip it. And that way you get a better tasting burger.”
Yet, while recognition is always nice, he didn’t get into this business to win awards. The goal is to please the customers.
After nearly 40 years, he must be doing something right.
“I’m not competing with anybody else. I compete with myself,” Wagner said.
Wagner says he’s also experienced a number of health issues in the last few years, from cancer to a quintuple bypass. However, retirement isn’t in the cards just yet.
The ‘Best Burger’ award on display near the Wagner’s Drive-In register.
Related: Brooklyn Park Community Rallies Around Jim Wagner
