Known by many as the best burger joint in town, Burger Bus has been serving Kenai since 1994. Taking inspiration from Red’s Burgers, another bus-based burger joint in Seward, the restaurant began as a summertime staple. Today, it operates from May to December.
The iconic bus the restaurant operates out of was towed to Kenai from Arizona. It first set up shop on the bluff then by The Bow bar before settling into its current location off of Overland Avenue.
The summer months bring tourists to the Kenai Peninsula, and with it the majority of Burger Bus’ business. With summer over and winter nearing, co-owner and operator Diane Hurst sees more local faces this time of year.
“They’ve done such a good job of supporting us and word of mouth of telling everybody, because we don’t advertise,” Hurst said. “Summertimes are crazy, and just with my husband and I, people will stand in line for 40 minutes to put their order in, and that just blows me away that people are willing to do that, and is very humbling. But I look forward to being able to see the locals as they come trickling back in as the tourists start trickling out.”
In addition to its low prices and personalized customer service, part of what brings returning customers to Burger Bus is the quality of its food. On Wednesday, the temperature outside was hovering around 40 degrees, but that didn’t stop locals from placing their orders at the window.
“It’s just first class,” said one anonymous customer. “I can’t say enough good things about them, and I’m sure a lot of their patrons feel the same way. Best sandwich on the peninsula.”
“This place is just an icon of the community and everybody supports it,” said Mark Reid after placing his order. “Great food, great prices. You just can’t beat their burgers.”
“We just make things the way that we think is the best,” Hurst said. “We always use the best ingredients, we sacrifice the bottom line sometimes just to make sure that we have the quality because for us, our customers are not our customers. They’re like family.”
Hurst says that Burger Bus has a sort of cultish following among locals and tourists. The restaurant attracts people from all walks of life, from blue-collar workers to state senators. She and her husband, who co-own the restaurant, have watched children grow up and bring their own children to Burger Bus. They have gotten to know their customers over the years, and have been there for them in good times and bad.
While Hurst believes that supporting local businesses is important, she says that the best part of her job is seeing the smile on customers' faces.
“The people here are wonderful, the kids are wonderful, the interactions with each other,” she said. “I will have people that will stand out here that are visiting, and you have people that have been here for 30 years, and they’ll sit at a table and have a conversation. It’s kind of like no one is a stranger when you come here.”
Burger Bus is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday through mid-December.
