Hinkle’s Hamburgers was established in 1930 and for generations was famous for its hamburgers, chili and attitude. It was a Bloomington, Indiana, institution until it closed briefly in February 2019. The following month, Richie and Janna Shields bought the shop, and began to replace the flooring and paint the restaurant in Indiana University’s signature cream and crimson. On May 7, 2019, Hinkle’s was open for business again.
Janelle Banks-Deckard flips the “Closed” sign to say “Open” just as 10am arrives. The store opens every day, except Sunday, at 10am and closes every day by 4pm, because it is primarily a lunch restaurant.
The orders stack up for John Donovan, the fry cook and the only employee who worked for the previous owners. Hinkle’s does a strong business in carryout chili, but regardless of the order, everything is served in a brown paper sack—eat in or carryout.
Depending on the day, Banks-Deckard said that up to at least a third of orders will be called in and taken to-go. As for orders that are taken in house, about half of the store’s customers will eat those orders there and the other half will take the food away with them.
Grill cook John Donovan focuses on flipping burgers to prevent them from burning. Donovan, who has spent most of his life in Bloomington, has worked at Hinkle’s for nine years.
Donovan presses a bun into a burger patty as it cooks. Burgers are served with cooked onions and are topped with pickles. It is the only way they’ve been served for as long as folks here can remember.
Addison, the Shields’s 13-year-old daughter, fills drinks while Richie is making a milkshake. Richie said having Addison work in the restaurant has been an incredibly positive experience for both of them.
Janelle began working at Hinkle’s after the previous owner’s oldest son reached out and asked her husband if she would have any interest in helping the Shields run the restaurant. She jumped at the prospect of working a day job, since she had been working nights and wanted to spend more time at home with her family.
Richie shows his wife Janna a receipt from a customer’s order. The cash register had recently updated and the new software had shrunk the size of the print to the point that it was hard to decipher.
Addison chats at the counter with her friend Cailyn Harding. Cailyn is Janelle’s daughter. The girls have grown so close from spending time together at Hinkle’s that they now hang out together outside the restaurant as well.
Bloomington native Toni Terrell sits and reflects on her first time back at Hinkle’s since her mother died. Terrell’s mother used to frequent Hinkle’s, and after being diagnosed with dementia, often asked that Toni bring her sandwiches from the restaurant until the day she could no longer eat or smell them.
Richie jokes with the Morning family about the size of the store’s pork tenderloin. Tenderloin sandwiches are Indiana’s signature sandwich and are served so that the meat overruns the bun by inches all around. It was the Morning’s first-time at Hinkle’s. Richie himself was far from a first time customer when he purchased the restaurant, He has been eating at the shop with his family since he was a young boy.