ENID — Old-fashioned burgers served up in a retro ’50s atmosphere is the newest dining opportunity in town. Boomarang Diner, set to open this week at 226 W. Randolph, represents not only the newest restaurant in Enid, but also the latest in a resurgence of investment in the city’s downtown business space.
Boomarang Diner staff are putting the final touches on their newest location in one of downtown Enid’s historic brick-front buildings.
The new Enid location represents the 40th restaurant for Boomarang Diners, a family-owned Oklahoma business that has seen steady growth since its founding in Muskogee by Charles Degraffenreid almost 20 years ago.
Ron Degraffenreid, part owner of Boomarang Diners Inc., said the company prefers to locate its restaurants in downtown areas “more so than not, especially if the downtown is thriving like it is here in Enid.”
“Enid is such a bustling community, every time we come here I’m impressed with how the independent stores are thriving, and that’s really a good sign,” Degraffenreid said. “There’s so much unique architecture, history and culture in a downtown, it’s always sad to see that lost to freeways and strip malls. But, that’s not the case here. The downtown here is awesome, and it’s just thriving.”
With its downtown location, Degraffenreid said Boomarang Diner will be well-situated to serve both downtown workers and retail foot traffic.
“Our business is built around the guy who has to come in, get a good hot lunch, get it fast and get back to work,” Degraffenreid said. “We strive to be that old-fashioned, community diner serving working-class folks.”
Boomarang offers a variety of signature dishes, including chicken fried steak, reuben sandwiches and breakfast all day. But, the centerpiece of the diner’s menu still is its “fresh, never frozen 100 percent ground beef burgers.”
“It’s the freshest product you can buy, and it’s made to order for each customer,” Degraffenreid said. “It’s about making burgers one at a time, and taking care of our customers one at a time, and we still live and die by that.”
The atmosphere at Boomarang Diner strives to tap into the nostalgia of the 1950s and the heyday of Route 66, complete with retro furnishings, decor and a jukebox playing ’50s favorites.
“People love the nostalgia of the ’50s, and it’s one of those eras that will never go out of style,” Degraffenreid said. “From kids to elderly folks, you’ll see them tapping their feet to the music, and that’s one of the neat things about that era is it really appeals to all ages.”
The company has been building on its business model with success that has picked up pace in recent years.
Boomarang Diners grew to six locations by 2006, and has now boomed in the last five years to 40 diners, including the new Enid location.
“We employ local people, we’re a family business and we get involved in the community, and the number of our restaurants is a testament to our success in that environment,” Degraffenreid said. “One of our main concepts is that we don’t want to grow faster than we can develop good working relationships with our people, and our growth has really been spurred by finding good people who could manage the growth.”
The company does not sell franchises; each location is owned and overseen by the Degraffenreid family.
Each diner is operated in a profit-sharing management structure by managing partners in the local community.
“Because of the profit-sharing, they have a vested interest in taking care of every customer, and they gain from us prospering,” Degraffenreid said.
The new Enid location will be operated by managing partners Matt Johnson and Elizabeth Richardson.
Degraffenreid said the diner will employ five to six employees, and is expected to open early this week.
When the diner opens its doors, Degraffenreid hopes it will benefit from what he sees as a bright future for Enid’s downtown business district.
“We love locating downtown because of the nostalgia, and because more people are wanting to shop in independent businesses instead of big chains,” Degraffenreid said. “If the opportunity is there, and we see there’s life in the downtown like there is here in Enid, we want to be a part of that.”
That optimistic view of downtown’s future figured largely into the historic building being made available for a new business.
“I’ve always wanted to start with some old buildings downtown and restore them back new to where they’ll last another 100 years and won’t deteriorate to the point they don’t have any value any more,” said Leroy Markes, who owns the building leased to Boomarang Diner’s new location.
Markes has worked in construction since the early 1970s and as an independent contractor since 1976.
Several years ago, he and business partner Teresa Tobey began exploring ways to harness an expected resurgence of downtown business.
“We both had a love to restore these buildings, so we met and put our minds together,” Markes said.
The result was a venture to purchase, renovate and lease downtown brick-fronts to new businesses. That venture began in 2009 with the purchase and renovation of a double-front building at 232 W. Randolph, which now houses Dance Works of Enid, The Gift Box and World Acceptance Corp.
Since then, Markes has worked his way east, to include the building that houses The Bridal Shop at 228 W. Randolph, and most recently the new home of Boomarang Diner.
“Some people think downtown is a difficult place to remodel a building, but as long as you know the city codes and follow them, it’s not that hard,” Markes said. “And, it’s easy to see why we have the codes ... they’re there for a reason.”
Markes said the significant capital cost of renovating the buildings is a good investment in a burgeoning downtown business climate.
“Downtown is growing again, and now you see more people shopping downtown ... it’s just rejuvenated,” Markes said. “I think what’s creating that excitement is people are looking back to independently owned businesses, they like the specialty shops, and there’s more and more people interested in downtown. And the more things that go in downtown, the more people will be drawn to downtown.”