Big Eaters Help Celebrate Grand Re-opening of Restaurant

Fred Chavez ate his burger so fast, he barely tasted it.

The Redlands resident chewed his way through a Farmer Burger -- a double cheeseburger with bacon, avocodo, lettuce, tomato, onion and pickles with thousand island dressing -- in 2 minutes and 5 seconds.

Chavez was the big winner, beating 15 other competitors Saturday at the grand re-opening event at the Loma Linda Farmer Boys location.

"I enjoyed the little I tasted," Chavez said. "But just real quick. I could probably eat another one, I ate that one so fast. This time I would take my time and enjoy it."

For his efforts, Chavez was awarded a $50 gift card to the restaurant and the respect of the 40 other people in the restaurant watching. But not a record. The fastest is 52 seconds by someone Lake Elsinore, according to Farmer Boys President Ken Clark, who stopped in to watch the contest.

The beginning of the three-day celebration by the restaurant was a way for the restaurant to welcome customers back after the inside got a makeover.

"We remodeled completely, closed it and remodeled," said Jose Navarro, the store's general manager, saying they changed out the tiles, the tables and booths for the first time since 1995.

The store, located on the corner of Redlands Boulevard and Mountain View Avenue, has had troubles connecting with the community due to turnover amongst its ownership.

"There's been so many owners of this restaurant, and we realized we've lost a lot of customers on the way," Navarro said. "This way we can give them incentive to come back and see that, hey, we're different and give us an opportunity."

Saturday's event saw a steady stream of customer coming in, eating and enjoying some of the activities, which included balloons and face painting for children, to food specials, including 99-cent cheeseburgers from 2 to 5 p.m.

But the big draws were the chance to win tickets to see Taylor Swift from K-FROG radio, and the eating contest. And the turnout didn't disappoint the chain's boss.

"It's an absolutely great turnout," Clark said. "It's really good to see people being supportive. It's our way to give back to the community for what they give to us. And the eating contest is always great to see."

Riverside resident Dave Zeller finished second, seven seconds after Chavez, and his son Drew finished five seconds after that. Both won gift cards as well.

The activities will continue today and Monday, with a car show from 3 to 7 p.m. today and a blood drive Monday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Both days will include the burger special from 2 to 5 p.m., and a breakfast burrito special in the morning.