65 YEARS SERVED
Blake’s Lotaburger celebrates its anniversary with a month of birthday festivities
This is a big year for Blake’s Lotaburger. The award-winning local burger chain is celebrating its 65th anniversary.
The celebration kicks off Sunday and will include free Birthday Shakes to the first 50 customers starting at 11 a.m. Then, at 5 p.m., the first 65 people at select participating locations will receive free Lotaburgers. The list of participating stores can be found at www.lotaburger.com/bday.
The celebration continues later this month with a Blake’s Birthday Blowout at Isotopes Park on July 29.
“We wanted to celebrate our milestone birthday year with the community and thank them for helping Blake’s grow,” said Lucy Rosen, director of marketing.
But that’s just the beginning of the birthday festivities for Blake’s, which has grown to 75 locations in Texas, Arizona and New Mexico since Blake Chanslor served the first Lotaburger from a one-grill stand in Albuquerque in 1952. The restaurant chain is planning to open six more locations before the end of the year.
Among the new locations will be a drivethrough in Berna lil lo at the Santa Ana development anchored by Big R, a farm and ranch supply store, and the company’s third location in Tucson.
There will also be a new “flagship” location on Gibson Boulevard. The Gibson location will be the model for all future stores, according to Rosen, and is planned to open in August. The new 2,800-square-foot facility will employ between 80 and 120 people and seat 84 guests.
Early last year, Blake’s announced a new restaurant design, but in an effort to “change with the times and keep tweaking until we get it right,” Rosen said, the Gibson location will feature an even newer design.
“There is an expectation with the younger generation to have wi-fi, recharge stations, community tables, and even two drive-throughs,” she said.
The older Blake’s locations will remain as they are, with only minor renovations.