A new burger joint coming to Gainesville will have customers reminiscing about bell-bottoms and go-go boots.
Dick Mondell’s Burgers & Fries, a ’60s-themed drive-thru restaurant, is set to open their first location at 412 SW Fourth Ave. in late October.
The restaurant will sell all-natural burgers, chicken sandwiches, homemade ice cream sandwiches, shakes, salads and more, said Conor Castelli and Chris Leckerling, co-owners of the restaurant.
“We want people to experience an old-school, original feel, sense of old Gainesville,” Castelli said.
The owners met at the Culinary Institute of America in California five years ago, where they crafted the idea of creating a burger place.
Castelli, who graduated from UF with an undergraduate degree in English in 2007, said he enjoyed his time in Gainesville, which is why they chose to open the restaurant in the college town.
Leckerling, who’s from Albany, New York, said he’s looking forward to immersing himself in the culture of the city.
The owners said they are reconstructing a building that was originally created in 1965, he said. They are remodeling the building by keeping one of the drive-thrus and creating a walk-up area to order with outdoor seating.
Houston Barenholtz, an 18-year-old UF biomedical engineering freshman, said he can’t wait to try their shakes and burgers.
“I think it’s cool they are taking an old building and adding a modern concept, keeping it attractive to the modern era," Barenholtz said.
