Akron’s Favorite Slider

Hamburger Station
2685 Manchester Road
(330) 753-4100

3275 State Road
(330) 920-1036

710 Canton Road
(330) 733-7303

Akron has its fair share of burger joints. Dilly’s, Skyway and Swensons have made their mark with sweet sauces and stacks of caramelized beef. Hamburger Station takes burgers in a different direction. Their tiny slider-like sandwitches are big on the bun and heavy(!) on the raw Spanish onions. Oh, and don’t even think about adding ketchup. The restaurant’s founder, Jim Lowe, wouldn’t stand for it.

Lowe was only 14 when he ran away from his Nashville home in 1938 and hitched a ride with a rubber salesman.
Little did he know that his car ride would end here in Akron, where he quickly found a job slinging burgers at Thaker’s, a restaurant in close proximity to Goodyear. After several years in front of the griddle, Lowe decided to strike out on his own and take Marvin Thacker’s recipe with him. The result was Hamburger Station, which in a few years had over sixteen locations.

The tiny chain was purchased by Akronites John and Art Michaels, who entertained the idea of expanding to Cleveland and beyond. Unfortunately their dream didn’t come to fruition, but luckily the little sandwiches are still around.

Hamburger Station prides itself on fresh food, even stating in the past that they do not have freezers in their restaurants, only fridges. In fact, most locations have large sacks of onions and potatoes on display and you can watch as employees use potato cutters for their french fries. Back in the old days the restaurants had more of a country-western theme, complete with saddles at some tables instead of chairs.

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Tags: Akron old restaurants, greasy food, Hamburgers, sliders