Updated: December 2, 2024
When Harold (Jug) Jorgenson was 16 years old, his mother Leanore Malcolm began selling loose meat sandwiches for five cents each in Correctionville, IA in 1931. While no one could have imagined it at the time, this marked the start of what would become a Lincoln institution.
After being discharged from the Air Force in 1946, Jug decided to take his mother’s recipe and turn it into a career. He found a partner, Norman Tegler, and attempted to get a loan but was denied as the bank thought a restaurant out in the country would surely fail. The partners pivoted to buying an old barracks building at auction and did much of the construction work themselves.
They opened Tastee Inn near 48th and Holdredge in 1948. The restaurant had a small menu but the standout was the Tastee sandwich which was made using the same recipe that his mother used back home. Other items included the Tastee pup which was a hot dog smothered in a meat sauce, french fries, chili, and shakes.
Located at 1530 N 48th St, the restaurant made $175 its first day in business. It’s only employees being the two partners and three girls working as carhops. Tastee sandwiches sold for 15 cents each or a dozen for $1.79. Its signature sandwich caught on quickly allowing Jug to make enough money to buy out his partner’s share of the business six months later at which point he changed the name to Tastee Inn & Out.
The carhops were soon replaced with a drive-through window which was among the first in Lincoln. Since the building was constructed without the window being a consideration, it was backwards forcing customers to pay and pick up the order by reaching across the passenger side. The building also contained pneumatic tubes that would send the customers’ orders to the kitchen for preparation.
The restaurant did the vast majority of its business through the drive-through as the small building only had enough room for about eight stools in its early days. Jug would expand the building a couple of times over the years. He kept menu changes to a minimum which included the addition of onion chips and dip and a fish sandwich.
As the original location continued to perform well, Jug would go on to open other locations in Lincoln, Sioux City and another near Minneapolis though he would later sell them off due to health issues. He continued to operate the original location until 1972 at which point Ben Murphy took over. Jug published a book in 1976 which contained the recipe for the sandwich which included ground beef run through a grinder three times, finely ground onions, water, ketchup, mustard, horseradish, Worcestershire, salt, pepper and Accent.
While Jug passed away in 1981, Ben continued operating the restaurant in much the same manner. Like its founder, he felt the small menu was an asset as it allowed them to continue to do what they do best. As a result, he also resisted making changes to the menu though a cheese frenchee, a chicken sandwich and western steak were added over time. He also added the restaurant’s first public restrooms in 1987 as well as an atrium on the north side of the building which allowed additional seating.
In Lincoln, Tastee Inn and Out continued to thrive even after competition increased and a Burger King opened just down the street. The BK resulted in increased traffic which caused the business at Tastee to double. They celebrated their 50th anniversary a year later in 1999 in which they sold the sandwich for just 50 cents causing a line of cars to stretch down 48th street. The Lincoln Police Department had to ticket cars for impeding traffic.
Ben’s daughter took over in 2006 and continued to operate the restaurant with her daughter until it closed in 2014. They cited declining sales and the high cost to replace aging equipment as the primary factors.
During its 66 years serving its loyal customers, Tastee Inn and Out became as much an institution in Lincoln as Runza and Valentino’s. Its owners credited the restaurant’s longevity to the fact that its loose meat sandwich was homemade using the original recipe that dated back to at least 1931. The only remaining location that I am aware of is located at 2610 Gordon Drive in Sioux City. That location opened in 1953 and has been operated by the Calligan family since 1955. In 2024 it was named as favorite loose meat sandwich and favorite fast food in the 2024 Siouxland Choice Awards.
I’d love to hear what you have to say so please feel free to comment. Until next time, keep exploring!
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