July 6 - 19, 2009
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Betty’s Burgers local landmark for burger lovers BY LINDA RODRIGUEZ BERNFELD
Hamburger lovers who haven’t found their way to Betty’s Best Burgers don’t know what they are missing. The restaurant is familiar to anyone who has lived in the south Miami-Dade County area for any length of time. It was known as Fuddruckers for more than 20 years, but when the time came for the franchise agreement to be renewed, owner Betty Amos decided to go it alone. For a brief time the restaurant was named Amos Sports Grille but about a year ago she changed to the name to Betty’s Best Burgers. Anyone who travels S. Dixie Highway south of Kendall Drive probably has seen the Betty’s Best Burgers sign that stands tall above the Busway at the corner of SW 104th Street and S. Dixie Highway in front of the Big Kmart. The food remains good and plentiful and the menu is familiar. “We have tweaked it some,” she said. “We deleted some things, added some things, but it’s not much different. People tell us it’s better than it was.” The food is fresh and delicious and is cooked to order. There is an impressive number of condiments available to put on the burgers or chicken sandwiches
and they are fresh. What has remained constant is the concept of offering good food at a reasonable price, which is one of the reasons why the restaurant is a favorite hangout for youth sports teams and their parents. “It’s still a place to bring your sports teams after the games,” she said. The restaurant can hold 270 but even if it’s full, the interior is roomy so patrons don’t feel like they are sitting on top of each other. There are video games for the kids to play and plenty of big screen televisions scattered around the room to keep up with sports. Amos always is looking for groups to come in on a regular basis. “Thursday nights is motorcycle night,” Amos said. “We have hundreds of motorcycles in the back parking lot. And the first Saturday night of each month we have a classic car show and on the third Saturday night we have a car show but it’s with newer cars.” Amos said bike night draws plenty of motorcycle riders from as far as Broward County, but it’s a family friendly group that loves to sit outdoors and enjoy a cookout. “Families bring their kids even on bike night,” she said. “If they don’t ride the bikes, maybe the father brings the bike.” While the majority of patron’s at Betty’s
Betty Amos shows off Betty’s Best Burgers’ full service bar.
Best Burgers are from the neighborhood, there are some nights where patrons travel to go to the restaurant. “They come from everywhere on bike night and car night,” Amos said. “We get a lot from Broward on bike night. We never got them from that far as Fuddruckers because we had Fuddruckers in Broward.” At one time, Amos owned 14 Fuddruckers, including a big one in Coconut Grove, but now she owns only Betty’s Best Burgers.
“You tend to get more involved when you just have one. It’s fun,” she said. “So many of my friends and neighbors frequent the restaurants.” Amos is proud of her restaurant and her employees. She has not had any turnover in two years and some have been with her from when she first opened the restaurant 25 years ago. Betty’s Best Burgers is located at 7800 SW 104 St. For more information, call 305-274-1228.
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