The steak and cheese burger is another local favorite. (Contributed photo)
The restaurant’s healthier options include the large chef and turkey salad. (Contributed photo)
* Owner: Rick Buff, who has been running the joint since he opened it almost 33 years ago on July 12, 1984.
* Background: Rick Buff’s Armando’s is an offshoot of the first Armando’s Restaurant opened by Bob Brown in Chattanooga in 1968.
* Philosophy: “Bob’s philosophy was if you put out the best hamburger, that people would come. And that’s what we’ve been doing,” said Buff. “We haven’t changed anything – we haven’t cut the size of the burgers down, we haven’t cut the quality, and it’s worked real well for us.”
* Awards: The restaurant won its first award from Chattanooga’s WRCB-TV 3 in 1986, and they’ve kept coming ever since. “I’ve got a line of plaques at the restaurant there probably 20 feet long,” Buff said. Most recently, the restaurant won 2016 North Georgia’s Best of the Best people’s choice awards in the burger category.
* Menu: Armando’s offers a variety of sandwiches, soups, chili and entrees like its hamburger steak dinner, but its cheeseburger is by far the customer favorite. “That’s what got us where we’re at,” Buff said.