Kenny's Flippin Burgers in Chaffee revamps classic staple with unique ingredients

Kenny's Flippin Burgers, located at 238 E. Yoakum St. in Chaffee, Missouri, opened on Aug. 11 this year with a goal of offering great homemade food in a small-town setting.

Jesse Stuart and his wife, Casey, own and operate the restaurant.

"We didn't want to go to a big town," Jesse says. "We wanted to open a small, home-town diner."

The restaurant, which is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday, offers nine unique burgers for customers to choose from.

"We have 'Kenny's Golden Glove,' which is a bacon cheeseburger topped with peanut butter, and we have our 'Holy Cheeseburger,' which has steamed shredded cheese on top of a burger. It can fill a whole plate," Stuart says.

BEN MATTHEWS ~ bmatthews@semissourian.com A fresh cooked Holy Flippin' Cheeseburger sits on a table Sept. 18, 2017 at Kenny's Flippin' Burgers in Chaffee.

Other featured burgers include the "Red Devil Burger," which is topped with Sriracha sauce, pepper jack cheese, and sliced jalapeños, and the Frisco Burger in which they use Italian bread and top the burger with Swiss cheese, grilled onions and Thousand Island dressing.

The burgers at Kenny's Flippin Burgers are not on the small side.

"All of our patties are a half of a pound of beef, and they are all hand seasoned," Stuart says.

The restaurant also serves what they call "Fry Pies," which are a heaping order of french fries topped with various meats, cheeses and sauces.

"We have what we call 'On a Wing and a Prayer,' which is fries topped with queso cheese and chicken plus ranch and buffalo sauce," Stuart says. "We also serve a 'Poncho Villa,' which is fries topped with queso cheese, chili and shredded cheese."

BEN MATTHEWS ~ bmatthews@semissourian.com Fred "Coach" Flook eats chicken nuggets Sept. 18, 2017 at Kenny's Flippin' Burgers in Chaffee.

The desserts, which are always homemade according to Stuart, include a selection of fruit pies plus a different specialty pie every day.

"We always have cherry, apple, blueberry and peach pie every day," he says. "And then we'll offer something like our peanut butter and M&M pie or our Oreo cheesecake pie."

When asked where they came up with the clever name for the eatery, Stuart said the name has family ties.

"My wife's dad, Kenny, died two years ago, and he always had a really funny sense of humor," he says. "He would say stuff like, 'Let's go over to such and such and get one of their flippin' burgers!' We wanted to do something in his memory that he would have appreciated and enjoyed."

The food service business is nothing new to Stuart.

BEN MATTHEWS ~ bmatthews@semissourian.com A taco burger sits behind a Holy Flippin' Cheeseburger and an order of ribbon fries Sept. 18, 2017 at Kenny's Flippin' Burgers in Chaffee.

"I was a district manager for Taco Bell for 15 years," he says.

When asked what makes him passionate about the new business, the answer comes easily to Stuart.

"I just really like food!" he says. "This is just something that I love doing."

Stuart feels like they are filling a niche by operating the restaurant in Chaffee.

"There isn't really a good burger and fries place down here," he says. "We wanted to offer something to people that aren't just looking for fast food [in terms of] quality."

BEN MATTHEWS ~ bmatthews@semissourian.com Jesse Stuart stands in the kitchen window Sept. 18, 2017 at Kenny's Flippin' Burgers in Chaffee.

Stuart says they are drawing customers from a 40 to 50 mile radius.

"We've had people in from Perryville, Cape, Advance, Dutchtown, Delta and Scott City, plus, of course, lots of locals," he says.

Future plans for the restaurant include expanding their delivery service.

"We offer delivery to local businesses now, and we would like to be able to offer delivery to local residences in the future," Stuart says.