What's the secret behind Swenson's unique and nationally recognized hamburgers?
One is the closely guarded recipe for a taste that's been creating loyal customers for 90 years.
That's the one Swensons Drive-In Restaurants President Jeff Flowers will never tell.
The other, its employees, gathered to celebrate the longevity of the nonagenarian company, talking about shared memories as curb runners — exclusively men until 1999 — cooks, management and even owners.
"Everybody here has so many stories to tell," Flowers said.
50-year employee kept things running 'nice and neat'
Ernestine Stallworth, a 50-year employee who started in 1971, ran the makeup board, ensuring the sandwiches met the restaurant's high specs.
"Nice and neat," she said.
She worked with former Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan when he was a curb runner and was honored with a " Miss E Day " in Akron in 2021.
"This is my family," she said.
Stallworth trained Flowers when he worked for the company while earning his engineering degree at the University of Akron. She said the restaurant's chicken sandwich and Galley Boy are her favorite items, with the Galley Boy more No. 1 than the other.
Swensons was also where she met her husband.
'No-tip' customer became employee's wife
Stallworth wasn't the only former employee to meet a spouse while serving up burgers.
Jim West, a curb runner in the early 1960s, said he met his wife while running food to her and her college roommate.
"She didn't tip the first time she came in," he said.
West said founder Wesley Swenson would help employees who had a bad tip night with a few extra dollars.
"Mr. Swenson would always come in every night," he said.
Most of the time, though, tips were good.
"It paid for my schooling," West said.
Paul Testa, founder and CEO of Testa Companies, also a curb runner, said he was the only runner who wasn't in college at a time when that was a Swensons requirement.
It was the mid-1960s, when he, too, met his future wife while running orders.
The job paid well — enough for Testa to purchase a car.
"I bought a brand new Olds '65 442," he said.
The company's headquarters on Cuyahoga Falls Avenue in Akron was one of his first construction jobs, he said. It was originally built for another purpose.
'Off to the races' at Swensons
Flowers said he began, like all curb runners, with training in the kitchen.
From there, other duties are taught until a new runner gets to shadow a veteran sprinter. Then, he said, the fun begins.
"Then, it's off to the races," he said. "Our motto is "Sprint and Smile."
Burgers, milkshakes and ginger ale
Mike Nitz, director of supply chain, said the company's 21 locations and two food trucks sell about 9 to 10 million patties a year, which amounts to about 5 million sandwiches and 5 million hand-cut slices of cheese.
Milkshakes and ginger ale are also big Swenson sellers.
"We sell more ginger ale than anybody this side of the Mississippi," said Flowers.
Swensons job helped employees get through school
Bill Goodlet said employees at his location would use his nickname when calling out "The Goodie" for Galley Boy orders.
"It was the best job I ever had," he said.
When Goodlet began practicing as a lawyer, he said he had to take a pay cut.
"I couldn't have gone to grad school or law school without Swensons," he said.
Meeting women who came to watch the men work was also a perk of the job.
"That's part of it being the best job I ever had," he said.
Hungry for Swensons in Houston
Former owner Steve Thompson said he owned the company about 40 years and worked for it before that. During that time, recognition of the company and Swensons reputation went through a growth spurt.
He remembers the Swensons name often came up while he was traveling around the country.
"It used to make me happy sitting in an airport in Houston and hearing people talk about Swensons," he said.
Flowers said he gets a kick out of customers guessing what gives the Swenson burger its signature taste.
"(The) favorite guess I ever heard was coffee grounds and grape jelly," he said.
More: Swensons fans rejoice! Ohio chain is bringing back its original cheese, butter and ketchup
Leave a message for Alan Ashworth at 330-996-3859 or email him at aashworth@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @newsalanbeaconj or Facebook at www.facebook.com/alan.newsman.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Swensons celebrates 90 years of sprinting and smiling its way to success
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