It takes a big party to celebrate your 100th anniversary, and that’s just what happened Saturday with Rutledge Hamburgers’ celebration in recognition of a full century of making and selling burgers on East Washington Street downtown.
The event included guest speakers, live performances, chalk art, exhibits, refreshments and a whole lot of Rutledge burgers at 10 cents a piece.
The cash-only establishment is renowned not only for its petite burgers but also its cozy layout. Gloria Perez, who ate her first Rutledge burger in the 1980s with her husband-to-be and worked there before buying the business in 1995 from Martin Rutledge, son of the restaurant’s founders, John and Hilda Rutledge, said it measures just 5 feet wide by 25 feet long.
That means it’s often hard to find a seat of course, because the place is popular in addition to being a Brownsville institution and one of the oldest eateries in the state. The grill is original, Perez said, with a century of seasoning locked in by fire and time that imparts a flavor to the meat that can’t be gotten any other way.
Perez said that after she acquired the restaurant, she reopened it under her ownership on Jan. 14, 1995, the same day the Rutledges opened for business 73 years before. Another thing she’s done the same way concerns the basic menu: burgers with a few different options, chips, soft drinks and water. You can get a jalapeno pepper on the side if you want. There are bottles of hot sauce on the tables. Perez said the burgers are still cooked the way they’ve always been and sees no reason to change.
According to the historical plaque affixed to the front of the building, the business started as a sidewalk burger stand. Then in 1924, the Rutledges bought the interstice between two buildings for $65, and added a roof and doors on each end. The window and door frames from the adjacent buildings are still visible inside the restaurant, as the plaque notes. It was featured on “The Texas Bucket List” in 2017.
Daughter Sandy Perez, who manages day-to-day operations, said that despite changing attitudes toward diet and nutrition, Rutledge Hamburgers still packs them in.
“Especially older people,” she said. “They have memories from when they were young and their parents used to bring them.”
About the only change her mother is considering, maybe sometime in the future, is converting the former Zepeda Hardware Store next door, which Perez also owns, into an overflow dining area with tables and chairs.
As for the celebrating, Perez got a lot of help, with several coming onboard including the city of Brownsville, Brownsville Convention and Visitors Bureau, Brownsville Chamber of Commerce, Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation, Mitte Cultural District, ROCA Cultural Arts, Brownsville Pedicab, and Gilberto Vasquez & Associates. Los Trevi Drive-Thru on Military Highway got the ball rolling early by giving away 100 Rutledge burgers the day prior.
Perez said she’d already been planning a big to-do, but thought “que milagro!” (what a miracle!) when the city and others stepped up, because it would have been a big chore going it alone. The city commission issued an official proclamation on April 19 in honor of Rutledge Hamburgers’ centennial.
Looking back, Perez said the restaurant was really just a job at first, a way to earn some money, and no way did she think she’d wind up owning the place, much less that it would become such a big deal. All the attention on Perez and Rutledge Hamburgers are getting on the occasion of the 100th anniversary? She’s OK with it.
“She loves it, I can tell you that,” Sandy said.
