BUTTE — Bud Royse can’t believe it’s been 50 years.
"When we opened these doors. People came, oh did they come," said Bud.
Royse’s Hamburgers, shakes, and more is celebrating 50 years of being one of Butte’s favorite burger joints.
"Butte has been very good to my family," said Bud.
Bud and his wife Donna moved to Butte with four little kids and not much money to open Royse’s hamburgers, originally known as the Arctic Circle Restaurant.
They only had $126 in the bank and Bud told employees he might have to pay them in hamburgers and hotdogs.
"I guess I have seen the people counting the money in the backroom and it looked like a good deal. I didn’t realize there’re seven days and seven nights in the restaurant business," said Bud.
Bud’s son Dan and his wife Tracy, bought the business in 2008 and ran it together until Dan passed away in 2012. Tracy still carries on the family business.
"We just keep doing what we were taught to do by people that started this business and worked their tails off really to make this the business that it is today," said Tracy Royse.
Bud’s wife Donna passed away in July. Bud and Tracy say that their loved ones would have been over the moon about the restaurant celebrating its 50th anniversary.
"She loved this," said Bud.
"She really did. Donna and Dan, my husband, Bud’s son — they were the PR people. They were the faces and the smiles and the talk and the laughter and really made that connection with the customers," said Royse.
"Danny would be back there helping me cook and all of a sudden, he’d disappear. He’d be out here in the dining room talking to somebody and I’m buried back there," said Bud.
They hope Royse’s continues to be successful for a long time.
"It’s been good. It's been very good," said Bud.
