A Texas Hill Country tradition celebrates 60 years

       A Hill Country icon just celebrated a significant birthday. Storms Drive In in Lampasas – known across Central Texas and much of the Lone Star State for juicy, old-timey hamburgers, “real potato” French fries, and hand-mixed malts and shakes – is now 60 years old.
       Sixty years – that’s a long time for a restaurant to be in business – especially in the same family. I may have been only six years old, but I well remember that first day – September 23, 1950 – when my parents, Jim and IraDell Storm, opened their little eatery on the highway in the small Hill Country town of Lampasas. Back then the world was a simpler place. Most cars on the road were painted basic black, sported running boards, and weren’t decorated with chrome, fins, or even dual headlights. Only six years earlier, World War II had ended and the United States was doing its best to get back to normal.
But what was normal? Certainly not what we think of today. Facebook, MySpace, Blogs, Twitter, YouTube, email, fiber optics, eBay, iPhones, VCRs, CDs, DVDs – just a few words in today’s vocabulary that six decades ago, no one had dreamed of, much less heard in everyday conversation.
       So what was “normal?” Well, the world and American culture may have changed immensely in the last six decades, but two things just don’t seem ever to go out of style – automobiles and hamburgers: the perfect mix for a drive-in restaurant. And six decades ago, Mom and Dad sold – literally – tons of burgers, as well as French fries, malts and shakes, and the then new rage – soft ice cream.
       One reason the burgers tasted different was that Dad started the tradition of grinding his own natural, 100% beef – a practice we still follow today in our government-inspected meat processing plant in Lampasas. The Storm family drive-in – then called “The Dairy Cue” – quickly became a popular hangout for Lampasas teenagers. Young people then, as now, loved their popular music and I remember one night when Dad came home from work all excited about a new singer he’d heard on a teenage customer’s radio—Elvis Presley.
       In just a few years, Elvis was more than Dad’s favorite singer – the “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll” also became a customer. While he was stationed at nearby Fort Hood, Elvis became a frequent patron at the Lampasas restaurant. I only got to wait on him once, but Mom took his order a number of times. She and I both agreed he was very polite, very quiet and did nothing to suggest he was a celebrity. Over the years, Storm’s has had its share of celebrity customers, including the rock group Aerosmith, golfer Byron Nelson, wrestler Gorgeous George, film actor Zachary Scott, and others long forgotten.
       One of the issues of the 1950s was civil rights. Dad had worked many years with minorities, all of whom he respected and liked, so I guess it was natural for him to say that his restaurant and restrooms were open to men and women of all colors. This policy was unusual in the South, but when asked about it, Dad would grin and say something like, “We’re in the service business. The only color we’re interested in, is green – the color of money.” In fact, Dad was far more interested in people than in money. Many times I saw him feed hungry strangers who didn’t have the 35 cents it took for a burger and a Coke.
       Dad retired in 1971 when I took over the reins. Three years later I changed the name from “Dairy Cue” to “Storm’s.” Long-time manager Kenneth Miiller became my partner and in 1984 we opened a second location in Burnet. A couple of years later we opened the Storm’s in Hamilton and in time, additional locations in Marble Falls and Belton. Much of Storm’s success is due to the hard work and dedication of its managers. After Miiller’s death, Mike Green became manager in Lampasas. Clint Connolly manages the Burnet store, Mike Kolodziej in Hamilton, Justin Mather in Marble Falls, and Kenny Murray in Belton. Each of these men – as well as several other staff members -- has worked at Storm’s for at least 20 years, which says a lot about their loyalty to the organization.
       Over the years, Storm’s has garnered its share of awards. Texas Highways Magazine listed it in its "Top Ten Burgers" in the state. Southern Living Magazine has twice mentioned Storm's as one of the best hamburgers in the South. Texas Monthly , Austin Chronicle, and The Food Channel’s "Best Of" series have all given it rave reviews. Perhaps the best notice Storm’s has received was from Biker Billy who scours the USA on his Harley searching out great road food. In one of his travel books he says, "a Storm’s Special burger with double cheese is worth riding a thousand miles for."
A thousand miles is a long ways to ride and sixty years is a long time for a restaurant to survive. We must be doing something right!
 

By Robbis Storm

By Robbis Storm

Robbis Storm is a restaurateur, writer, world traveler and avid outdoorsman who lives (and goes fishing) on the east side of Lake Buchanan.