Brown Derby — Restaurant in Shawnee

Not a bit impressed with this place... I had high hopes to find a great small-town burger place, both I honestly felt queezy after seeing the lack of health-code. The staff, while they seemed like nice people, apparently cannot wash their hands, clothes or appoint someone (other than the cook, mind you) to take out the trash and clean the grease pit. The garbage bags were paraded (again, by the cook whom just handled out food) in front of us while we ate... Not the most appealing sight to see the cook carrying greasy looking trash bags while you eat the food he just prepared. I'm not prissy or someone who has never cooked and cleaned, I understand that is common for small restaurants to all have shared duties. But what pushed my stomach nearly over the edge, was the shirts they (including the waitress) wore... It looked as though you had put a white T-shirt on a baby and let them eat their first meal unsupervised.

I am not offended or mad about their way of conducting business, but I am disappointed that they clearly do not take their public image very seriously. They should, because their below-mediocre burger and sides are not going to carry them far. I would not be surprised to hear that this place is closed in a fee years time. The locals must be the ones supporting their business's income. Sad, sad, sad. I hate to see a business being handled so sloppily. This is coming from a person who loves small, family-owned and operated restaurants.

The reason I'm chunking them a two star instead of one, is because I know how hard it is to improve when your google status drops- I hope they see this review (and hopefully other similar customer reviews) and make some changes. America needs unique restaurants, we've become so dependent on cheap franchises. If the Brown Derby owner(s) make some changes and improvements, then I wish them all the best. Otherwise, I will not be returning as I don't want to risk food poisoning from the multiple health-code violations that I witnessed...

Sometimes it’s best to leave the past in the past and be nostalgic than to try revisiting it and being disappointed. Such is the case with Brown Derby. This used to be a place where you could recapture some of the 50s and 60s charm with the antiquated ordering system and equipment (nothing makes a shake like those old machines did) with a hodgepodge menu including the standard burgers and fries and the perfect onion rings, but also hot beef on rye and barbecue sandwiches. Granted the hot beef had been discontinued before the new owners had taken over, but it was still a staple for 40+ years.

Now, you order by scanning a QR code or calling the restaurant while you’re in the stall. The menu has been cut down to just your basic burgers and fries and onion rings that are nothing like the crispy delights of the old place. I think they may have had hotdogs as well.

I ordered a Double Derby Special, onion rings and a chocolate peanut butter shake. The burger was basically a smaller version of a Sonic burger; not horrible, but nothing special. The onion rings were a letdown not because they were bad, but they were like everyone else’s which used to not be the case. The shake was just not good. It was nothing like the old school ones from when I was a teenager. Not very rich and just blah. Also, this meal came to $20 which was the final turn off.

If you are looking for nostalgia then go downtown to Hamburger King. This place has lost its magic. It’s basically Boom-A-Rang in a different building, but minus the great things about Boom-A-Rang like...

First time tasters of Brown Derby. We pulled up and took some time checking out the place and seeing how ordering worked. They have 3 different ways to pay. A Scannable QR code with automatically logs your “Stall”, A phone number to call, or you could walk up to the window. We used the QR code and got our order together (the website was just ok). We ordered (2) Derby Burger meals, (1) with tots, (1) with Derby fries, and (1) Root Beer. After placing the order and after about 10 minutes a girl came out to ask if we were doing ok and we looked like we might be lost about what to do. I explained that we were new to town but had just placed an order. She went back in to check on it and about another 5-10 minutes later the food came out. (Total about 15/20minute wait time with maybe 3 cars there). They forgot our drink 1st and then they also forgot to ask about condiments. (Neither was a big deal since we caught it). Needless to say, the food was hot, accurate, and a bit messy. The Derby Burgers were put together hanging off of one side but easily “re-centerable”, they did however have a great taste and again, were a good temperature. The Derby fries were awesome, but I do wish I had a fork for them as they were covered in sauce. Overall the food was great, the wait time was a little longer than we expected for them not being so busy, but worth the wait overall. We will be going...