The Fuddruckers near Greenway Plaza is one of the most interesting rise and falls I’ve seen and a case study of the fall of a once-prominent chain

The Fuddrucker’s on 3929 Southwest Freeway near Greenway Plaza is one of the most interesting rise and falls I’ve seen

I recall when the restaurant was first opened up in 1996, originally marketed as a place for little leaguers to stop by after games– you’d see photos and league uniforms on the walls from local youth teams. The restaurant was clean and had what at the time were considered “gourmet” hamburgers by the standards of the time. It quickly became a standard for the yuppie West U crowd.

Those simple days changed in the late 90's when they decided to convert to a 50’s/60’s rock-and-roll theme– kitschy stuff like license plates on the walls, statues of the Blues Brothers, and each of the booths in the three corners were themed to a rock and roll group or star (Elvis, Beatles, Rolling Stones). Compared to other Fuddrucker's, this place was boppin'. People would bring their families on the weekends and businessmen would crowd the dining area for lunch during weekdays. And the STUFF– it was just more and more every year! Eventually the restaurant looked like a hoarder home.

Even then I’d sometimes go back for the build-your-own burger bar and consistent service. I could overlook some dirt and grime as the place was seeing massive turnaround in customers and the busboys were struggling to keep up.

At some point in the 2010's, that all changed. The restaurant was stripped down. At first, It was pivoted to a sports-centric hangout: big TV screens, jerseys and photos on the wall. Now in the 2020's it’s newspapers– literally newspapers- on the walls and bare bones décor. But worst of all in these recent years, everything good about the food is gone. Sure there were times in the past when I’d find a rusty steak knife. But recently when I’d go, it’d always be something that absolutely sinks the experience. Earlier this year, the burger topping bar was closed– for weeks. The Coke Freestyle machine has been broken for months– instead it's just cans of soda (Coke, Diet, Sprite, Dr. P) but they still charge like it’s a fountain drink with unlimited flavors. The fries are cold. The buns are stale. The milkshake machine was off for weeks this spring. They were out of non-beef patties like turkey. The bathrooms are a mess. The store was even closed when we went by in September. The workers blamed suppliers, but it’s been months and the issues have not resolved.

For me the last straw was this most recent visit. The vents in the ceiling which were exposed and had accumulated over twenty-five years of dirt and grime, were condensing and dripping onto the dining area. Dirty water dripping directly into plates, glasses, etc, constantly.

I told the manager this and she looked at me blankly and said “okay, it’s a hundred degrees outside” in a “so what” voice. No apologies for the filth water or any of the above, just excuses and comments like “well, we don't have __ but we have milkshakes now”. I asked for a refund and won’t be back.

COVID seems to have done a number on this place and like many restaurants before it, they’ve been in austerity mode since 2020. I hate that it’s gotten this bad and I know some folks are going to say “Fuddrucker’s has always been trash” or that all restaurants have been cutting back but it’s gone off a cliff at this point. Not sure who the owners are now or if they even want to run a burger place but any reason I've had to go back for their $18 burgers is gone.

Footnote: I like Bubba's on Westpark and Beck's Prime and even Pappa's has a good burger. Fudds disappoints.