Originally a house repurposed into a business and then sold to its namesake founder, the now iconic Jack’s Hamburgers holds down the meat-between-buns game in the heart of downtown. When Jack passed away, current owner Connie Hutchinson and her late husband, Scott, beat out multiple other bidders for the chance to carry on the legacy and have been doing so for 35 years and counting.
A former administrative assistant turned restauranteur, Connie considered selling when she became widowed in 2012, but says she ultimately decided to keep the restaurant to maintain its integrity and retain all the great employees. With indoor and outdoor seating available, she says her spot combines an old-school diner feel with a motto of “just really good fast food.” The burgers of course headline the menu, available in singles and doubles with cheese, bacon and avocado add-on options, and they also offer veggie and plant-based patties as well.
The very popular Jack’s special sauce zips their burgers together, described by Connie as a kind of seasoned relish-less Thousand Island dressing. Their fries are also a major hit, double-dipped to achieve textural contrast. Other favorites are classic grilled cheeses and hot dogs, tri-tip steak on a French roll, and turkey and salmon sandwiches. Beverage pairings include sodas and oversized-straw-equipped milkshakes in flavors like vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, salted caramel and Oreo.
How have you seen downtown evolve?
CONNIE HUTCHINSON: We bought the place right after the earthquake of 1989, and unfortunately, it took a long time for the town to rebuild. But when the Cinema 9 was built, we really felt an uptick in business. Since then, we’ve always done well, even through multiple recessions and the pandemic. Now, with all the local high school sports and Santa Cruz Warriors games, we are usually busy and have a great local following that we are very grateful for. And we’re not far from the beach, so we get tourists too.
What makes your business successful?
What we are all about at Jack’s is good food at a fair price made by really good employees who take pride and ownership in what they do. We have a great location and place high priority not only on food safety and cleanliness, but also on affordability, which our customers remark on and really appreciate.
202 Lincoln St., Santa Cruz, 831-423-4421; jacks-hamburgers.restaurants-world.com
