By Joe Hyde
Publisher
December 5, 2007

Two San Angelo entrepreneurs want to elevate the hamburger to a delicacy. Jared Newlin and Matt Wittie bought the former Angelo Burger at 2424 Vanderventer, across from the main ASU campus just off Johnson Street, in August. Since then, they have upgraded the quality of the items on the menu and added to it. The result is Roadrunner’s Burger Deli.

Newlin proudly displays 10-pound chubs of ground beef fresh out of the cooler. Roadrunners receives a new shipment of ground beef from their supplier every morning. The meat is fresh and never frozen. “Before 9 a.m. we’re in here hand pressing patties for the number of burgers we expect to sell that day,” Matt says. “We’re using 81% lean beef to make these burgers,” Jared adds. Cook Mario Cuellar is cooking five or six patties on the grill for the mid-afternoon crowd. Mario stayed with the new owners because he loves cooking burgers. And he has a special technique to grill those burgers to make them extra juicy.

The way they acquire, handle, and cook the beef is what makes Roadrunner’s burgers unique. And in this age where we’re overcrowded with fast food at every corner, the partners believe their superior ingredients, particularly in beef selection, will make them money. “And we’re really competitive in pricing with places like Sonic,” Matt says. “So if you are in a hurry and want a better burger, swing on by here instead. It’s healthier too!”

Roadrunners added other items to their menu, too.

The “Texas Philly” sandwich is worth a mention. The 8-inch submarine sandwich is filled with generous helpings of fresh sirloin strips, grilled with fresh sliced mushrooms, onions, bell peppers, and Swiss cheese. It has an incredibly great taste. “That’s our secret barbeque sauce,” Jared says. He will not divulge how he makes it though.

Jared recommends the Oregano Chicken Sandwich if you are not in the mood for beef. “The chicken melts in your mouth,” Jared assures. It is grilled, not fried, and placed on a fresh sourdough bun seasoned with oregano.

For those looking for a lighter meal, Jared recommends homemade chicken salad sandwich. The chicken salad, prepared according to a recipe Jared learned from his grandmother, is served on Texas toast.

This month, Roadrunners is adding buffalo meat burgers, which will be cut every morning as well. “It’s very, very lean,” Jared says. More deli-style sandwich selections are also available. “Our customers have also asked us to offer more healthy side dishes instead of French fries and onion rings,” Matt says. You can now choose fresh coleslaw or spicy green beans with tomatoes.

That doesn’t mean they are ignoring traditional sides. The onion rings are prepared in Mario’s special beer batter, or you can select traditional French fries or large waffle fries. “We also just added fried pickles made from a special house recipe,” Jared says.

Jared is a 1998 graduate of Central High School. He completed his degree in Mass Communications and Business at Southwest Texas State (now Texas State) in San Marcos in 2003. Throughout all those years, he worked in restaurants and learned the art of good food with consistency. He returned to San Angelo after graduation and thought about becoming a builder while remodeling and flipping houses with a local real estate investor. His parents are partners at ERA Newlin & Vincent Realty. Jared says owning a restaurant was always a dream of his.

Matt is from Monahans. He migrated to San Angelo after spending a few years in Lubbock attending Texas Tech. He worked in several restaurants there learning the trade. In San Angelo, many people know Matt as “The Cable Guy.” He sold business Internet service for Cox before they sold this market to Suddenlink. After that, he spent a year working me in sales for LIVE! Magazine. I often joke that I paid Matt so much in commission that he bought a restaurant.

The partners say that business has been brisk, but they are concerned about ASU’s announced plans to close a portion of Johnson St. “We bought this place in part because of the drive-by traffic on Johnson,” Jared says. “They can’t close a main artery between the two busiest streets in San Angelo, Sherwood Way and Knickerbocker, without major problems.”

In November, ASU and City of San Angelo officials met to try to resolve the issue of whether or not to close the street. ASU holds the upper hand on the city, though. Johnson cuts through the middle of the campus and the university holds the right to eminent domain. The issues discussed revolved around traffic jams, not economic impact their decision will have on two local entrepreneurs who just bought a restaurant.

“We bought three signs facing each direction and paid for permits on all three of them,” Jared says. If Johnson is closed, the south-facing signs may not matter much, except to pedestrian traffic traversing ASU’s sprawling campus. “If they close Johnson down, it will eliminate most of our drive-by traffic,” Jared says.

“I think our food and atmosphere are good enough to make Roadrunners a destination worth the drive a little out of the way,” Matt says.

Roadrunner’s Burger Deli is open 11 a.m. to 9 a.m. daily. You can phone ahead for large orders at (325) 947-9462.