It’s back to the future for Hal’s

Published 3:52 am Wednesday, March 14, 2007

PENDLETON – Hal’s Hamburger’s is back in the family and the well-known Pendleton hamburger joint is undergoing a major face-lift to recapture the retro look of the 1950s and ’60s.

Cindy and Shane Spiess, the daughter and son of former owner Lowell Spiess, reacquired the business after their father died in 2006 and a lease to Randy Cook expired. The brother and sister worked at Hal’s Hamburgers through high school, but Cindy Spiess said running the restaurant is different.

“It’s been quite a learning experience – a quick one,” she said.

Even so, this is something she said the family wants.

“We were anxious to get our hands back on it,” Spiess said. “We’re trying to get it back to an old mom-and-pop style.”

That mom-and-pop style includes returning to a flat roof, removing the 1980’s exterior rock and going back to colors and style reminiscent of when Hal’s Hamburgers opened in 1952.

Improvements also will be made to the building’s interior, including a wall where a swinging door is now and adding a door to the west side for customers parked in that end of the lot.

Manager Marsha Smith said the changes, both inside and out, are welcome.

“Yeah, actually I’m looking forward to a lot of the changes,” she said.

Spiess said the family is in the process of re-training staff and hiring new employees who represent the good “old-fashioned” customer service the ’50s provided. And the business will upgrade the menu and improve the food quality. But Spiess said the milkshakes, the Monster Burger (half pound of beef, cheese, ham, bacon and an egg optional) and the Baconcheezeenie Hot Dog – Hal’s Hamburger’s signature items – will remain.

Perhaps the biggest change will happen not to the restaurant proper, but to the empty dining room just a few feet away.

“I’ve had a million people come up to me and say ‘I used to eat in the dining room when I was in high school,’ ” Spiess said.

She said it hasn’t been used in years, but it will be outfitted with booths and tables with high bar stools. It also will feature a large, flat-screen TV and the patio area will be wired for sound.

“We’re going to try to open it up for high school and college kids to hang out,” Spiess said.

She plans on meeting with that clientele to find out directly what they would want.

Through all of this, the business plans to stay open, although it will close early on Sunday for some work.

Spiess said the business is aiming for a grand opening in June and is trying to apply for some facade restoration grants via the city’s Facade Restoration Program. Even though the business is outside the downtown historic district, Spiess hopes the Urban Renewal Commission will consider the burger joint for facade grant money.

Spiess said the family has an over-arching goal in mind for Hal’s Hamburgers.

“We used to be known all over town as ‘The best burgers in town,’ and we hope to have that said about us again,” Spiess said.