Beloved Las Cruces restaurant chain Burger Time closes after 48 delicious years
LAS CRUCES, New Mexico -- The clock has unfortunately struck midnight on Burger Time.
The popular southern New Mexico restaurant chain has closed the last of its locations after 48 delicious years.
“This town has expanded, Burger Time expanded with the town,” said owner Kevin McGrath. “We grew with the town and the town grew with us.”
McGrath’s story is that of one man starting from the bottom and making it to the top.
“When I began working for Burger Time, I was a baker and I was in the back making doughnuts,” McGrath said. “Then in comes this man by the name of Marvin Lloyd and says he just bought the business.”
However, a few years later it was McGrath who had taken over.
It was around this time that McGrath helped lead a massive fundraising charge to enrich several Las Cruces high school football programs.
“All of the state championships were being won on the eastern side of the state,” said McGrath. “A group of us got tired of it. We knew it was all financial because they have the oil fields over there in Artesia, Hobbs and Clovis.”
Soon, the Burger Time golf tournaments became the stuff of legend and helped move the funds that they raised into an endowment.
To this day, that endowment has grown to have over a million dollar in it and benefits four Las Cruces football programs.
And as he turns towards retirement, Kevin McGrath has this last message for the Las Cruces community he loves so much.
“Keep going,” said McGrath. “This is a truly great town. Las Cruces will always be special I do not plan on moving anyplace else.”
Even though Burger Time itself is over, McGrath said the clock will never expire on his local philanthropic efforts and added that his fundraising work is still needed, perhaps now more than ever.
