-
In May 2014, Indy Star’s Amanda Bell covered the opening of our Zionsville Bub’s Burgers and Ice Cream location in her article Zionsville Bub’s Burgers & Ice Cream keeps it simple.
Matt Frey had a simple plan when he opened Bub’s Burgers & Ice Cream in 2003.
“The original goal was to be the best burger in town, make great shakes and ice cream — keep it simple, be good at one or two things and succeed at that,” he said.
Customers at the Carmel restaurant thought that Bub’s did those things well, and the restaurant grew, adding locations in Bloomington and now Zionsville. But Frey and his wife and business partner, Rachel, are keeping the concept simple.
The 5,600-square-foot building has seating on two floors and overlooks a wooded area near Eagle Creek. Weather permitting, there is also patio seating available, complete with wooden picnic tables.
The atmosphere inside is clean and casual: Tables are outfitted with paper towel rolls and kids’ travel games, and servers offer complimentary chili and soup shooters once your party is seated.
The menu concept at the Zionsville eatery is all-American fare such as burgers — “fresh never frozen, hand-pattied chuck cooked to order, served on a fresh-baked bun,” Frey said — milkshakes and draft beer. The star of the menu at each Bub’s location is the Big Ugly Burger, a whopping 1-pound meat feast. Those who polish one off have their photo taken and put up on the wall. Since the restaurant opened in February, already more than 500 photos have been added to the walls, said Jason Fiddler, manager at the Zionsville shop.
That Bub’s tradition is all part of the restaurant’s goal to create a memorable customer experience, he said.
“We do lots of celebrations with people who’ve finished the Big Ugly challenge,” he said. “It’s a rally point for a lot of families, and the staff really gets into it, too.”
For those who aren’t quite up for the Big Ugly challenge, Bub’s makes burgers in smaller sizes, too, all of which can be served with All-American sides such as sweet potato fries, potato salad, cole slaw and wings.
Other popular entrees include over-sized hot dogs as well as the mahi-mahi and vegetarian portobello mushroom sandwiches, the gourmet-style elk burger and the occasional specialty burger. Past creations have ranged from a pizza burger with marinara and mozzarella to a garlic burger.
Once you’ve finished your meal, save room for dessert — Bub’s has several old-fashioned ice cream flavors at an ice cream shop attached to the restaurant. All can be made into milkshakes. Pie with ice cream and a brownie dessert are also crowd-pleasers.
“People like what they know,” Frey said. “Our goal is to keep it simple.”
Bub’s Burgers & Ice Cream
Where: 620 S. Main St., Zionsville; 210 W. Main St., Carmel; 480 N. Morton St., Bloomington.
Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Sunday at all locations.
Information: (317) 344-0927 (Zionsville), (317) 706-2827 (Carmel), (812) 331-BUBS; www.bubsburgersandicecream.com.
Praesent in lectus bibendum, consequat diam in, scelerisque lectus. Fusce ligula nisi, elementum a rhoncus ac, iaculis ut nunc. Suspendisse cursus tortor sit amet eros aliquam interdum. Proin quis tellus aliquam, malesuada enim sit amet, scelerisque augue. Interdum et malesuada fames ac ante ipsum primis in faucibus. Donec condimentum, orci quis condimentum aliquam, nisl nibh pulvinar dui, in dictum magna lacus non massa. Donec laoreet nisl diam, sodales aliquet sapien aliquam et. Maecenas vehicula magna a justo faucibus, eu posuere est sodales. Proin dolor arcu, tincidunt et imperdiet ac, fringilla et augue.
Morbi nibh dolor, pretium id enim sit amet, sollicitudin egestas libero. Praesent tempus nisl sit amet neque congue, quis sollicitudin tortor imperdiet. Pellentesque vestibulum nisl vel vulputate posuere. Quisque porta a augue sit amet ultrices. Sed eros eros, condimentum in urna vel, cursus commodo mauris. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Mauris ac tortor sodales, vestibulum orci sit amet, facilisis nisl. Maecenas eleifend in mauris vitae euismod. Phasellus consequat vestibulum quam.
Cras vel dolor magna. Nulla pellentesque, elit non gravida tempor, lacus nisl rutrum ipsum, eu convallis odio lorem non nunc. Nam dictum lorem in arcu tempus, vitae gravida metus tempor. Aenean consectetur, tortor nec imperdiet tincidunt, neque quam porta augue, et placerat nisl tellus in nulla. Vestibulum eu consequat nisl. Morbi faucibus nec nunc at ullamcorper. Suspendisse purus leo, gravida et convallis non, tempor id nisi. Etiam suscipit porttitor nisi quis gravida. Phasellus ultricies viverra lorem fringilla pellentesque. Cras a nisi nulla. Vestibulum et nibh magna. Donec non augue faucibus, tincidunt lectus non, adipiscing augue. Cras libero nulla, lacinia id tellus sit amet, aliquam ullamcorper turpis.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nunc sed dignissim eros. Aenean egestas quam vestibulum ante porttitor, eu bibendum mi consequat. Donec consequat auctor ligula vitae gravida. Nam id nulla in nunc aliquam tincidunt ut id ligula. Suspendisse mollis nisi non augue tincidunt, a interdum sapien congue. Cras ultricies neque id quam semper, quis placerat eros condimentum. Aliquam sit amet nisi faucibus, laoreet odio quis, egestas neque. Sed lobortis congue orci, eget auctor sem laoreet eu. Aenean interdum purus a luctus varius. Proin a sagittis sem. Nunc eu nisl eget eros aliquet convallis. Proin sed neque ut eros lacinia vulputate. Donec placerat est interdum auctor imperdiet. Vestibulum quis tincidunt metus. Phasellus et neque turpis.
2022 Bub's Burgers