St. Tammany News

It's midnight, you've got the munchies and you have a craving for those ubiquitous little square hamburgers from Krystal.

The only thing you can do to satisfy the urge is hop into your car and head across the lake to the Krystal on Bourbon Street in New Orleans.

This Krystal Burger on Airport Road in Slidell, will open on New Year's Eve, and be the first Krystal franchise on the Northshore and only the second one in the metro area. (Staff Photo by Erik Sanzenbach)

That will no longer be the case after Dec. 31, when the only Krystal Burger franchise on the Northshore opens up at 10 a.m. New Year's Eve.

The burger place famous for it's cheap small hamburgers is owned and operated by The Pantry, a Slidell-based company that also operates the Kangaroo Express convenience store and gas station franchise.

Just off Interstate 12 at the Airport Road exit, The Pantry has finished building a large facility that will house Krystal and the Kangaroo Express convenience store.

To celebrate the grand opening of Krystal, the first 12 people in line at 10 a.m. will recieve a dozen Krystal burgers every week for a year. How's that for starting the New Year?

The Krystal Co. is also celebrating its 75th anniversary, and the first 75 customers in line will receive Krystal T-shirts and food coupons for Krystal burgers, chicken sandwiches and hot dogs.

A little-known fact about the famous burger is that it is the official hamburger used in the World Championship of Hamburger Eating.

The Tennessee-based fast-food restaurant has been giving out free hamburgers to customers at all the openings of their restaurants during the past year. Krystal Co. spokesman Brian Wicked said the response has been great, and he expects the same from Northshore residents. The offer of free hamburgers for a year brings out a lot of people.

"You can be sure there will be people camping out 24 hours before the opening," Wicked said.

He said people have camped out at the other Krystal openings just to have the chance to get a year's supply of hamburgers.

Toni Sherfield, spokesman for The Pantry, said Northshore residents will now have the chance to enjoy those famous Krystal burgers.

"With this opening, Krystal lovers will no longer have to travel to satisfy their cravings," Sherfield said.

Currently, the only Krystal outlet in southern Louisiana is on Bourbon Street in New Orleans.

Wicked said festivities will start at 9:55 a.m. Monday when a black limousine will pull up to the Airport Road Crystal. A man who Wicked describes as a "U.S. Secret Service-type" will get out of the limo with a briefcase handcuffed to his wrist. The case will contain the secret forumula for the Krystal burger. As soon as the formula is turned over to the Krystal manager, the store will officially open for business, and 12 lucky patrons who are first in line will get their fill of the square burgers for the next year.