[ A Cozy tradition ]

A Cozy tradition

Salina eatery celebrates 80th anniversary

with same small burgers that made it famous

PHIL ANDERSON/The Capital-Journal

The 80-year-old Cozy Inn in Salina is the only place in the world where you can get Cozy Burgers.

A tradition

The Cozy Inn is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday. Call the Cozy Inn at (785) 825-2699 for more information.

By Phil Anderson

The Capital-Journal

SALINA --- It's moist and warm when fresh off the grill and fits easily in the palm of your hand.

Usually accompanied by a squirt or two of ketchup and mustard, and a dash of salt and paper, it can be eaten in just a few bites.

As it is being consumed, it evokes closed eyes and an inaudible "mmmmm," or some derivative thereof.

And, oh yes, it leaves an unmistakable onion aroma in its wake, one you will take home with you in the fabric of the clothes you wear into the teeny-tiny establishment with a single counter and six swiveling stools for eat-in customers.

So much for the phenomenon known as the Cozy Burger, a thin hamburger patty with chopped-up onions served with pickles on a roll- sized bun, which was first concocted in 1922.

It is anybody's guess how many millions have been sold in the intervening years --- or will be in the future.

At age 80, the Cozy Inn, the only place in the world to get the small burgers, is still going strong in the same small, white building with inviting red neon sign at 108 N. 7th in downtown Salina.

Very little has changed, both in the building or in the burger, since the day both landed in Salina.

Generations have grown up on Cozies, which can be had for 65 cents apiece, a bargain by today's standards but a steep increase from the early days, when it was available for a nickel.

Nobody seems to complain about the price. Customers appreciate the fact that they are eating a piece of Americana.

"There's nothing like a Cozy," said recent dinner-time customer Ray Keen, 62, of Clay Center, who stopped by the eatery after he bought a motorcycle in Salina that afternoon. "Before we went home, my wife said she was hungry for a good hamburger. So we came down to the Cozy."

Younger generations also are tuned into the Cozy tradition, which has stood the test of time.

Christal Lantz, 38, of Salina, said she was running some errands and stopped by the Cozy Inn for dinner for herself and her family.

"It's just a novelty," she said. "Actually, my son said he wanted Cozies for supper. He thought we needed to bring home some Cozies for him."

During rush periods, three people work behind the counter at the Cozy Inn, somehow staying out of each other's way in tight quarters.

The cooks, who love to talk with customers, can fry up to 50 of the small burgers at a time on a griddle which sits in front of hungry customers just beyond the counter and looks out on 7th Street behind a sliding window for take-out orders.

It takes about six minutes to cook a Cozy burger --- three minutes on the grill on each side.

Although there are some similarities in size between Cozies and the famous White Castle burgers, there are noticeable differences in taste and texture.

The Cozy Inn's 80th anniversary in March brought more attention to the diner than it usually enjoys. There were food specials galore, and media coverage that hadn't been seen in years.

"We were really busy," said Cozy Inn manager Larry Jackson, a 44- year-old native of Salina. "We were really, really busy.

"It's the nostalgia of the place."

Bob Kinkel bought the establishment in 1922 when it was 3 months old. Through the Great Depression, World War II, Vietnam, Watergate and Disco, the Cozy Inn survived and thrived.

In about 1985, there was talk of tearing down the Cozy Inn to build a parking lot. The locals would have none of that, and a petition circulated around town quickly put a stop to such nonsense.

The Cozy Inn now is owned by Max Holthaus and Greg Boyle, of Salina.

Longtime residents of Salina are grateful they still have their Cozy, a forerunner of today's plethora of fast-food chains.

Not that all the customers are from Salina. On a recent Wednesday evening, within a 15-minute period, first-time visitors arrived at the Cozy from Texas, Wyoming and Chanute. It is a one-of-a-kind place where the locals like to take their guests.

Most of the out-of-town business comes via word-of-mouth, with no billboards on Interstate 70 to lure hungry travelers to the establishment. Somehow, people just seem to find out about the Cozy.

"We have people come here from all over the U.S.," Jackson said. "Shoot, I had a couple in this last year from Germany and Denmark."

Salina natives who move away sometimes order Cozies to be sent to them in special packaging via airplanes. It isn't cheap, but it is worth the cost, because it brings a taste of Salina to them.

"I sent 48 out to New York a couple of days before the Sept. 11 tragedies," Jackson said. "They got 'em."