History - Embers America

Our Story - "Remember the Embers" When...

The first "Embers" Restaurant was opened in 1956 in Minneapolis on Lake Street near Hiawatha Avenue. It had seating for 36 people. All of the recipes were kept in a small tin box in the kitchen. The menu featured a lean, quarter-pound Emberger selling for 45 cents and an Emberger Royal, with thick sliced bacon and cheese, which sold for 75 cents. Most restaurants serving hamburgers at the time sold only a one ounce, fried product. The Emberger was char-broiled, featuring Embers’ special sauce.

In addition to the Embergers, we soon became known for our unique, homemade pancakes and other breakfast items – all available 24 hours a day.

Our success with this first restaurant was only the beginning. More restaurants were opened in the Twin Cities area between 1956 and 1972, and Embers branched out of the metro area market, opening our first non-local restaurants in St. Cloud, Minnesota and Cedar Falls, Iowa. A few years later, a 100 pound Emberger Royal was created for the grand opening of the Mankato, Minnesota Embers. Over the years Embers has continued to grow, with restaurants now throughout the five state area.

Embers is still the place you can find the original Emberger, delicious coffee cake, great deli sandwiches, super thick malts and homemade buttermilk pancakes on the menu. Although a lot has changed since that first Embers, what hasn’t changed is our goal to specialize in "really good" food at a "really good" value.

As times continue to change, we will always attempt to meet our customers’ needs and fulfill their appetites. We work hard to be responsible members of our community and will strive to create a great work environment for our people.

We are proud of the brand we built in the past, the changes we are making today and what we are building together for our future. There is a story of two stone cutters who were each asked what they were doing. The first replied, "I am cutting the stone into two blocks." The second replied, "I am part of a team that is building a house." At Embers, as we join forces with great family owned restaurants everywhere, we are building a new house together.