HALTOM CITY — At Clown Burger in Haltom City you expect burgers and friends, not hugs and cries.
It was an emotional day as customers, family, and friends showed support for the owner. Bill Louthan, a man who's spent half his lifetime grilling burgers, hung up his apron Thursday.
Businesses come and go, some of them without too many people noticing. But Louthan's departure wasn't missed by his loyal customers.
"I've been doing this since '63," Louthan says as he cooked up a burger.
Louthan said customers start lining up at 10 a.m.
"And everybody knows we don't even open until 10:30," he said.
But Thursday, they closed at noon. The crowd was so large they sold out of burgers.
"I thought that it was important that they got a chance to say goodbye," said Kari Negrete, Louthan's daughter. "Because he just kind of wanted to sneak out the door."
"Well, my legs give out and my hand has arthritis in it, and I've been on the concrete floor for 53 years," Louthan said. "That's it."
But while Louthan served up his last burger at the restaurant, his daughter said she'll reopen it next month.
"Well, the last one for dad, the beginning for me," she said.
But before those burgers sold out, Andy Jones managed to get the last order in. He's been a customer at the spot for more than 50 years.
"Who thought a little hamburger place, a guy cooking burgers could be a hero," Louthan said.
While the customers love the burgers, it was Louthan they went to see on its temporary closing day.
"Oh, it means everything to me," he said.