TROY, Mo. – One restaurant in Troy, Mo., has been welcoming customers, returning and new, from the past three decades as the business prepares to close its doors Saturday.
Matt Bass always wanted to follow in the footsteps of his late father, Ted, and own a business. So three years after marrying his wife, Janet, the couple opened the doors of Krumbly Burger.
Ted and Matt discovered Krumbly Burger through a salesman, Mr. Baker, at a franchise show. They saw Baker’s idea for the establishments, and the father-and-son duo were immediately sold.
Although the restaurant was originally a purchased franchise, it has since grown to have deep roots within the Bass family and the surrounding community. Many family members have worked in the restaurant, including all three of Matt and Janet’s kids and Matt’s mom, Clara.
“The restaurant has been like a source of life, I think, for the Bass’,” Matt said in reflection of the restaurant. “It’s hard to describe what its been like.”
The other three locations of Krumbly Burger were located in Michigan, but Matt’s was the only one to survive.
“Before you know it, we went home and told the girls, and we took off to Michigan on vacation,” Matt said. “We liked what we saw; we bought a franchise from Mr. Baker and then we came back to Troy.”
In its early years, when Troy wasn’t majorly developed, the restaurant jumped from locations, including what is now the Commerce Bank and the Medicine Shoppe that sits across the street from its building now. And there were appearances of Krumbly Burger in other towns, including Elsberry and Montgomery City.
After settling in its current location since the early 2000s, the announcement was made Jan. 17 that the business was for sale. With a growing family of 10 grandkids, Matt and Janet said they’ve decided to slow down from the craziness of running a business.
While the original hopes were to sell the restaurant and keep it around for years to come, the sale took a different direction in April when the building was purchased to turn into an Express Bandanas Bar-B-Q.
“I wanted to sell the building ground, but I didn’t want to sell the Krumbly Burger,” Matt said. In an effort to keep the food from the restaurant around, Matt has plans to open a food truck to take around Missouri, but he says he will come and visit the new establishment.
So, what is the selling point of the restaurant? It is exactly how the name describes it—loose meat burgers. That, and a friendly encounter from Matt himself when he is around. But he credits the success of Krumbly Burger to his love for the food.
“I guess that (we stand out) because I love Krumbly Burger…we’ve had such a collection of people starving for Krumbly Burger since we said we were going to close,” Matt said.
The menu featured the classic Krumbly Burger, along with tacos, chili dogs, catfish, and more.
The Facebook announcement of the sale was flooded with comments of congratulations and memories of the restaurant over the years. When asked if Matt could describe the reaction of the community when the announcement of the closure was made, he had one word: mournful.
“It’s like something you’ve had all your life isn’t going to be there anymore,” Matt said. “People even come to see the building.”
The last day Krumbly Burger will be open is Saturday, May 25. There are plans for the whole Bass family to be there, working all together one last time.
After that, Matt says he is looking forward to spending more time with his wife as they renovate their new vacation home in Branson. Once July rolls around, he will switch gears again to start preparing for the Krumbly Burger food truck, hoping to open in the fall.
“I could not be more satisfied,” Matt said. “Just the sheer joy of people that have come and seen us…couldn’t have had a better career than I have had.”
