Dinner Break! - Burger Time - Ham Lake, MN
Then I found out where the new location was…
The northern suburban outskirt of Ham Lake.
Uhhh… That’s not going to work at all…
Former Coon Rapids Burger Time, January 1st, 2000.
The drive-thru only burger restaurant opened in the spring of 1988, and closed in the summer of 1997. I ate there quite often when it was open. It was convenient to my location, reasonably priced and the food was good. It wasn’t amazing, unbelievable, blow you away good, it was good. It was Burger Time. Starting in January 2000, I started to follow the abandoned Burger Time building’s slow decay.
By August 2023, someone had ripped the boards off the windows, broke the glass and trashed the interior. This wasn’t the first time it happened, either. The pictures I took satisfied a major curiosity I had about its condition, and would give me a story I’ve wanted to write for many years.
I was further inspired to make a pilgrimage to Fargo, North Dakota, to eat at Burger Time, for the first time since 1996. Burger Time wasn’t the only reason I wanted to take a Stupid Roadtrip to Fargo, but it was a significant factor. Eating at not only the Fargo location, but the one in Moorhead, MN, as well. Photos from these drive-thru’s contrasted perfectly with the sad urban decay at the Coon Rapids Location. But it made a great story!
My salute to Burger Time went up late December 26, 2023.
Something I learned from my story, is Burger Time has a very small, but pretty loyal following. It’s become one of my biggest hits. Likely because people knew about this limited chain, either from memory or second-hand, but there was virtually no online reference beyond the basic corporate website. So people who looked and wanted more, found my story.
Including this guy…
I replied to his Reddit message the nest day, but am still disappointed that I never heard back. Daydreams of being appointed to a high paying gig as Chairman of Burgers or something, was an offer I’d have to strongly consider. But those hopes faded without reply. The timing of reaching out to me would have coincided with the new Burger Time opening in Ham Lake. So I’d assumed it had something to do with that. Of course my wandering mind took me off in a direction where the new Burger Time came about, because my story showed corporate they needed to give the northern Minneapolis burbs another shot…
When it comes to my “influence”, please… Don’t look to me for marketing research. My opinions tend to not follow the direction of an audience that would make you any money.
Although, I would have absolutely pushed for a better location.
Burger Time’s new location would be inside the old Soderville Dairy Queen building. (Photo from June 21, 2018) Soderville was never an official town, but was the locally accepted name of the areas around Crosstown Blvd. and Highway 65. Officially, this is Ham Lake. The Dairy Queen closed in early 2024, after being open since 1971. Online reviews paint a picture of why it closed, pretty much what you’d expect.
I stopped here once in the early 1990’s, when out with some friends, on our way back from the East Bethel Theater, a mile or so north of here. We all had some sort of Ice Cream and I remember nothing else about it. But I’m sure a significant portion of Dairy Queen’s customer base was people on their way to or from the East Bethel Theater.
East Bethel Theater (Photo also from June 21, 2018… I think I want to write about that day very soon…) Saw a few movies here between 1992 and 1995, with several different groups of friends. But I haven’t been there since 1995. Interior pictures of it today on the Googles, look absolutely nothing like I remember from 30+ years ago. Especially the full bar inside.
Opposite side of the East Bethel Theater sign. (Photo from the drive back, on June 21, 2018…) Also find it interesting they don’t advertise the movies being shown, on the sign anymore. Which sucks, because I’d really like to see a matinee of Great Popcorn.
Guess we’ll just go to Ham Lake Burger Time instead…
But only if it’s between the brief window of history, that it was actually open. Roughly July 2024 through January 2025, from what I was able to find online. Doesn’t look like it lasted even 6 months.
Laura and I drove up here and had dinner, on Saturday, September 15, 2024.
I drove up here to see it closed up, on Sunday, April 26, 2026.
This story will combine those two events.
******
There was one simple reason the Ham Lake Burger Time was doomed before it opened. Location. First off, Ham Lake is roughly 30 miles north of downtown Minneapolis. While it’s grown some over the last 25-30 years, it’s not a booming suburb. Only about 17,000 people live in the 36 square miles. It’s one of those towns that exist because a highway runs through it, and sometimes people stop for gas..
And you’re only getting off the highway, if you live there.
Otherwise, you’re just driving through on your way to Cambridge.
Laura and I were approaching from the southwest (about 20 miles away), so we had the more convenient shortcut of taking Crosstown Blvd, out of Andover. There’s the Ham Lake city limits, with a run down barn behind it.
In order to get to Burger Time from Crosstown Blvd. (and Highway 65 for that matter), you need to make a turn at the cluster of electrical stuff, onto the business access road. Another difficulty facing the new Burger Time, accessibility. You have to want to make the effort to come here. Because there’s not a lot around it to draw you in. You’ll see a lot of traffic going by the place on a daily basis, but what is compelling them to turn off here?
Looking down the opposite end of the access road, dead ended with a small cluster of houses.
The intersection in the distance is where you’d have to turn off the highway, to loop around back here.
Crosstown Shopping Center across the highway has faced the same difficulties. 30 years ago, there was a grocery store and a drug store anchoring the collection of in-line retail. The grocery store closed in the early 2010’s, reopening as the Open Range Cowboy Church. There’s a Subway and a Domino’s, because there always is. Anoka County is leasing a fair amount of the center, for a Library and a DMV office. There’s also karate, day care and a bank, if you need them.
Dollar Tree showed up a few years ago. Surprised it took them so long.
There’s also a Burger King tucked back behind the building. You can barely see it from the highway, although there is a sign on the corner. Perhaps Burger Time didn’t notice they were there either? Opening their new restaurant before realizing the strong competition just blocks away…
Continuing down the frontage road, on the west side of the highway, there’s a vacant building. With a unique sign and several cars parked out front. Looks like it had a previous life as a used car sales lot.
Next door is a pretty old retail building, listed on the Googles as Soderville Septic.
According to the sign in front of the Soderville Cafe, there was Soderville Hardware. The actual Soderville Hardware sign was still attached to the building next door, in 2019. (Thanks, Googles!) In case you were confused by the hand painted Soderville Septic & Cafe plywood sign, the Soderville Cafe is operate from Soderville Septic. Not even the same building, despite how it looks.
Well, we’ve finally made it… Time to enter the story.
Heheheheheh… They couldn’t finish painting the fence, because that red van was in the way!
The exterior wasn’t fancy.
It was pretty much the same exterior of Dairy Queen’s post remodel, with their signs replaced.
Side entrance to the Time.
Burger Time’s patio. Possibly using the same patio furniture as Dairy Queen?
Burger Time’s patio on April 26, 2026. Furniture removed.
I was also hoping the signs would have been either taken down or covered up. While I’m always in favor of closed-up businesses leaving some of their identifying markers behind. When they’re all left behind, to the point where it looks like they could still be open, it’s disappointing. Especially when you’re really hoping for a little more less…
Let’s pretend we’re going inside, just like Laura and I did, a year and a half earlier.
Entrance area is now lined with chairs for the tables inside.
There’s the patio tables and chairs, now moved inside. The 3 door cooler is propped open by hand sanitizer on a pole. Pretty sure it was empty when Laura and I were here, because Burger Time really didn’t sell much for Ice Cream. This was much more a Dairy Queen thing. Ice cream cakes and stuff. There’s also a few rolled up floor mats on the table next to the door.
That same table holding booster seats and napkins, in September 2024.
Front counter where Laura and I placed our order…
Here’s our receipt from that afternoon… Laura got the Bacon Cheeseburger (no onions) Combo with Cheese Curds. I had a Bacon Cheeseburger (pickles, onions and ketchup only), with a side of Bacon Cheeseburger (also pickles, onions and ketchup only). Thanks, Amber E!
Along with a 47 cent credit card upcharge. I get it, small businesses shouldn’t be penalized to accept credit/debit cards, so the argument of passing on the upcharge is fine by me. These days, it’s a penalty for not carrying cash. Which I don’t think anyone does anymore.
Why is the street address in Andover? That doesn’t make any sense…
Front counter and a peek back into the prep area, shortly after ordering.
Front counter and a peek back into the prep area, 20 months after ordering.
Another angle of that counter, now lined by patio furniture.
Behind the counter, looking into the drive thru window.
Odd Star Trophy left behind in the drive thru window.
“Don’t take my important wand.”
No one did…
Hmmm…. I didn’t notice it when we were here, but there’s that same Star Trophy thing in the window.
Must not have been very important.
Zoomed out picture of almost the same thing.
Burger Time’s sign was simple and effective. Good shape and font choice, and the tilted burger over strawed pop cup stands out. Really a shame they got less than 6 months use of it.
Well, it’s time to get back inside, our food is being brought out to us soon.
We sat in the last booth, so I could get a good look at this angle of Time. The building wasn’t spacious enough to accommodate a large number of people. A sign by the register states a capacity of 49. There were four booths and several tables with chairs inside. Nothing fancy, just what it needs to be.
Without having seen what Dairy Queen looked like before it closed, I’m assuming this wasn’t a drastic makeover.
Especially given the rather quick turnaround between the two.
They did hang up a three panel print of BURGERS, which probably wasn’t there for Dairy Queen. Doesn’t really work against that background, but hardly the reason Burger Time closed so quickly. I do really like those red hanging lights.
As far as I know, this restaurant in Ham Lake was the first in the Burger Time chain, to include indoor seating. I think all of the others have been a drive thru only model. So if this location was being used as a test market thing, it makes the choice of market even more questionable.
While waiting for our food, I became fascinated with the reversed letters on the Burger Time window signs. (Thinking of Karl’s Russian Hockey Jersey.) I’m still spending way too much time reading those words as what they aren’t…
Our order has arrived.
Exactly as expected. Tasted exactly like Burger Time. Which is a compliment. They’re not fancy, gourmet, specialty, Wagyu wonderburgers. They are Burger Time. If you want the latter, you go to a place that serves that. Sometimes, I want Burger Time. And they’ve never disappointed me, no matter how long it’s been or how far I had to go for it.
And white onions! Burger Time gets it!
Looking at you, Wendy’s…
Seating area, as seen in April 2026.
The three panel BURGERS print has been taken off the wall and placed on top of the garbage houses.
Symbolically telling you all you need to know.
Another angle of that area, showing more stacked chairs and tables.
Back in September 2024, I had just finished eating and was going to use the restroom.
The entrance to which is just beyond this overhead Emergency Exit sign.
For some weird reason, Burger Time didn’t want you to smoke or vape inside the restroom.
Guess I’ll wait until I get back outside…
You know, toilets aren’t that expensive. And when the quality of water has stained the bowl to this extent, and you’re operating a restaurant (of whatever level), go ahead and replace it. Just so it doesn’t look repulsive and works properly.
One thing I never agreed with on these signs is the idea that you just leave the water running while drying your hands.
Seems incredibly wasteful.
Rusty water has stained the sink as well.
Laura was still eating when I came back from the restroom. Well, she was mostly messing with her phone while her food watched her. I said I was going outside for a cigarette and more pictures of the exterior. She wanted to play on her phone some more, and was interested in trying the Blackberry Shake we read backwardly on the window sign. I agreed to go back to the order area and get her one, before I had a second round of pictures. She liked the shake and I thought it was pretty good. Not a big fan of Blackberry.
With her content, I set my sights on the great outdoors. Planning a walk around the property, covering all four sides, including the signage.
Starting with the Now Open banner on the fence by the entrance.
When I took this picture, a woman sitting in the drivers seat of that red van yelled at me for taking a picture of her car. I yelled back saying I was taking a picture of the sign. But that wasn’t good enough for her, so she kept yelling her stupid twattery about me taking pictures of her, at me. Which I assured her, I wasn’t doing.
Perhaps she had something to hide? After all, she was parked there when we got here. She was still sitting in her van when we left, just under an hour later. Not once did she go inside Burger Time, or even got out of her car. So why are you loitering at Burger Time, ma’am? Get over yourself.
That same Now Hiring theme is also running on the front window…
The message had changed by 2026.
According to our friends at Loop Net, the Ham Lake Burger Time is available for a reduced price of $600,000. The photos in the sale listing include several of a very creepy basement. I didn’t know this building had a basement. It was built in 1972, with a remodel in 2016. The Executive Summary in the listing reads: “Could use a good cleaning before use, I plan to clean it when time is available.”
Well, there’s a promising selling point…
Front entrance door and other window.
From the business access road, running parallel to Highway 65.
Southwest corner of the building in 2024. The gate door is broken open, held in place by a bucket. A garbage can stands by, on watch duty. Hmmm… Had I wanted, I could have easily climbed that ladder and taken some pictures from the roof. Except I would never do that. Probably would get some cool shots… And the cops called on me.
By April 2026, that garbage can has barely moved from its post.
The gate door has been fixed, and the pile of dried up weeds is new.
Back to our September 2024 visit… Looking at the drive thru ordering area.
Which looked exactly the same in 2026, so I didn’t take any new pictures.
Dumpster house in 2024. Wish I would have taken a picture of the dumpster house in 2026. Both dumpsters were gone. No shirtless tweekers were hanging out in there, unlike what I found at the Coon Rapids Burger Time, in August 2023.
Pretty much your vantage point when placing an order. Well, you’d probably be closer to the intercom.
A look at their Summer Specials. Which extended into the winter and up to the closure, as this sign was still attached to the pole in April 2026. According to online reviews, the Loaded Funnel Fries were a massive disappointment. Everything else seems normal until you get to the 10pc Chicken Chunks. What is going on with them that you are shying away from the industry standard term “nuggets”?
Closer look at the Burger Time Drive Thru Menu Board. This picture is from 2026, as it was better than the one I took in 2024. None of the prices had changed in that time. Probably because it was only open for six months.
Only including this 2024 shot of the large menu attached to the wall as a completist act. This variation of the menu included a printed sheet of paper advertising a Root Beer or Orange Crush Float… ENHANCE!!
This was also posted at the register inside, but not exactly the most eye-popping method of advertising new product…
After that picture, I went back inside to meet up with Laura. She was still deeply entrenched in phone land, so we chatted a bit while she finished eating. Subtly encouraging leaving.
Before leaving, I wanted to include the whole dining area, opposite the booths, in one shot. Unfortunately, that meant using the phone on panoramic setting. So the edges are distorted, but not badly enough to look completely fish-eyed.
Overall, I was impressed by just how much it was what I wanted it to be.
I wasn’t blown away, I wasn’t disappointed. My experience from atmosphere to food to service was exactly what I expected and wanted. There are two Yelp reviews within 7 days of our visit. Both complain about poor quality food and an infestation of flies. While I was there, I didn’t see any real excess of flies that you wouldn’t normally find in any/every fast food restaurant.
Food quality is pretty arbitrary. One guy actually wrote that he expected premium quality food and service. That’s not what you are paying for. Why are you here? And I doubt your food was ice cold, and/or rock hard. Was your chicken sandwich REALLY served to you at 32 degrees? You just want attention.
I snapped this photo of our leaving the Ham Lake Burger Time. My hopes were to come back again soon. Problem being, it’s about 20 miles from where we live. Not hard to get to by any means… Crosstown through Andover is an easy route. But you have to plan to come here, because of that distance. And that was something that just never happened.
Laura was driving tonight, and we had to stop by the grocery store on the way home. As we were settling into her car, I pointed out the woman in the red van, who yelled at me earlier, and told her the story. As she backed out of the parking space, I rolled down the window. After all, I didn’t get a picture of these picnic tables earlier. In part because she was parked by them.
Guess what lady, no I wasn’t taking a picture of you earlier… But now I am!!
I was so hoping to get a picture of her startled and angry yelling face before we drive off. But she was so busy digging for whatever, that she didn’t look up until we’d pulled out of the space. I’d just have to vaguely remember her angry yelling face.
Why do they always look like you?
She has finally left her parking space by April 2026. Only the picnic tables remain.
They’ve been clustered up and chained together to prevent stealing.
Misleading Burger Time sign, overlooking Crosstown Shopping Center.
Gonna leave like we did 20 months ago.
Only I’m taking Highway 65 south, instead of Crosstown, this morning.
Goodbye Ham Lake Burger Time.
Your Time was far too brief…
You know who I feel the sorriest for? The maybe 2 or 3 employees at the Ham Lake Century Link office, next door. For nearly six months, they had a Burger Time within walking distance of their jobs. Which would rule. Then it’s gone. And that had to suck…
After this shot of Century Link, I turned onto Highway 65 southbound.
Since I was driving through Ham Lake, I was hoping to take a decent picture of…
Ham Lake Lanes.
Tracy and I bowled here a couple of times, when I was living in Crapids, between 2003-2005. At some point, I should turn off at Constance and take some better pictures.
One night in early 2004, Tracy and I were bowling next to an obnoxiously cute high school couple. They entered the names: “Tootsie” and “Roll” into the overhead digital scoring system. They danced and giggled the whole time they were next to us. Not to be too cynical, but there’s something just plain obnoxious about that kind of thing, when you’re two people that hate people. Later that night, I had Tracy draw a cartoon of them in my notebook.
Those people are happy and enjoying life!
Fuck them!
Yes… I think it is time to exit this story…
Feel like I’ve missed out on one of my all time favorite burgers. Again…
When the time came where I was serious about going back, I heard it had already closed.
There’s still Waite Park, and the St. Cloud area is about an hour away. Plus there’s still a bunch of stuff I’d like pictures of. My Doktor keeps threatening me with possible cool abandonedments in Cold Spring… And much to Laura’s dismay, I’d still really like to do another Stupid Roadtrip to Fargo… That photography mission could easily be supplemented at some point.
So there are still Burger Time’s around…
Just not as close as Ham Lake.
Which wasn’t close.
******
It’s been a couple of year now… Guess I can answer the open-ended question from the first Burger Time story…
Shhhhhhhh…
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