LJ's Burgers & Ice Cream — Restaurant in Des Moines

Now known as LJ's Burgers & Ice Cream, this store is now operated by what I am told is the people who used to operate the now closed Dairy Queen around the corner. They brought with them their own knockoff versions of traditional DQ treats and offer ice cream cakes, which seem to be popular.

The hot food menu is mostly old school fast food done pretty much the way DQ would. Basic burgers (pickle, ketchup, and mustard), a few specialty burgers, a fish sandwich, tenderloin, and chili dog. They cook to order and I've had no complaints about the freshness of the food.

The building is of some historical significance. This was an original Kentucky Beef location...a late 60's roast beef spinoff chain from the KFC people. The chain didn't last long and maybe a hundred of these buildings went up nationally. This example is rare in its completeness with the exterior...including the doors...largely intact. And the original sign is mostly still in place too, sans the Colonel's head and the coach lamps up top. It would be really neat if the owner repainted the building in its original colors and restored the coach lamps to the top corners and the sign, and cleaned up the painted over ones still on the side of the building. It would become a tourist attraction for pop culture fanatics.

(Sorry, no, there isn't a roast beef sandwich...

First and foremost I have always loved Little John's and have not been there for quite awhile. I know people that have worked there so I know that this is not how things used to be done but this def put a sour taste in my mouth and I don't know if I will ever waste my money at this establishment again.

My Experience : I decided to come inside and place an order to go. I was hungry and wanted something quick on the way home to relax after the long morning that had just taken place. It had been awhile since I had eaten at Little John's so we decided to eat there. I specifically ordered my burger WELL done and our fries to be crispy. Neither of these things took place. After waiting in the store for my order to be completed for 20-25 minutes, you would think at least the food would be cooked properly. I even had time to carry on conversation with a random stranger in there that too was awaiting his order for quite some time. Not only was the food undercooked and the service unacceptable, after a few bites in there was a hair found in one of the sandwiches that was purchased.

I do not live super close to the store and therefore it wouldn't be convenient for me to bring the food back into the establishment, so I decided to write this review here.

I will definitely think twice before eating here...

I've only been there twice so far and both visits were rather different. The first time the food and service were great and the chocolate milkshake was excellent. The second time I had ordered a plain tenderlion with no sauces or toppings and cheese curds as the side. I was going to take a second to decide what shake to get as well as there was nobody else behind me in the drive-thru but was told to move up by the attendant and it was never brought up again. Yeah I should have said something but I was too polite to. When I got my order I got a nornal tenderlion with ketchup and onions (which I am not a fan of) and fries. Now everyone makes mistakes, I haven't worked for 7 years in the customer service and retail industry not to realize that. I hope on future visits I can continue to get the excellent service and food on that I got on my first visit. For anyone who hadn't been there yet don't let the old exterior fool you the food is still good and prices are certainly...