Best Recycled Fast-Food Joints
Hill-Bert's Burgers
We wonder if the folks at UsedToBeTacoBell.com know about beloved Austin burger chain Hill-Bert's. For almost 40 years, the Maldonado clan has been serving up some of the best burgers, fries, onion rings, and shakes in town. But from the outside, there's always been something strangely familiar about the place. The first location was opened on North Lamar in 1973 in an old Burger Chef franchised by the family's patriarch. And when it came time to expand – first to locations on West 35th and Cameron Road, then most recently to North Burnet – each venture employed a distinct recycle-reuse ethos in a distinctive facade, reclaiming old, abandoned Taco Bell structures. Yes, they "used to be Taco Bells." And as our local heroes keep making us proud, ever-expanding and moving on up, maybe it's time to crank up UsedToBeHill-Berts.com?
