The Cherry Hut Gets National Media Attention

In the Christian Science Monitor: Want fruit with that burger?

The burgers at the Cherry Hut restaurant in Beulah, Mich., are a hit with customers. But these aren't ordinary hamburgers. Every summer, when tourists come to sample the state's bumper crop of cherries, the restaurant's co-owner Andy Case starts taking orders for the restaurant's popular burger. After broiling the patties in the kitchen, he slides them onto a bun and tops them with fixings. It's in this moment, before the first bite, that customers stir with anticipation because the Cherry Hut is home to an unlikely specialty – the cherry burger.

The burgers are filled with tart, or sour, cherries grown in northern Michigan – the cherry capital of the world.

Although people come to the Cherry Hut for the restaurant's cherry pies, the cherry burger has become a popular seller and a conversation starter. Mr. Case says he probably sells more cherry burgers than regular burgers. "People want to be more health conscious," he says. The cherry burger is "tasty, juicy, healthier."