By Olly Johnson
Despite working for the Golden Trident and (quite obviously) attending Golden High School, I haven’t been to downtown Golden. The only time I’ve been was for a short while to attend the Golden Homecoming Parade with a friend. However, even though I only went very recently, I was acutely aware of one local establishment, Bob’s Atomic Burgers.
Bob’s Atomic Burgers is a restaurant that opened in 2012 and is run by Bob and Jennifer Toohill. The Toohills, trying to find something to do in Golden in 2010, noticed this always open lot. So, inspired by the burger joints of his childhood city, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and noting the lack of restaurants in Golden back in the early 2010s, the Toohills decided to try the pipedream idea of opening up their own restaurant.
As with most of these types of establishments, the first few years were rough, to say the least. Jennifer on the matter stated, “It was hell… it was slow, we get busy on the weekends, we had the Coors tour that helped a little bit, but yeah. I had to get help from friends and it was really rough for three years.” But eventually, the joint caught on due to the quality of the burgers served there.
This led to word of mouth being spread about the restaurant, which led to something really interesting about Bob’s Atomic Burgers: They don’t advertise. At all. They instead cater fundraisers and support charity. Jennifer puts it as “instead of putting $700 into fliers and advertisements, we donate $700 into a local elementary school.” But one of their most important values is actually about staff. Jennifer stated, “The key is treating your staff well and they’ll stick around… because we are family.” The staff has a long history with the restaurant, with some working there for over a decade. For example, the cashier the day that I arrived started working there when she was 16 and is now 27 years old.
The moment I walked into Bob’s Atomic Burgers the first word I thought was charm. From the way that you self-order food from a bag to give to the cashier, to the doo-dads and knick-knacks lining every wall. Instead of taking your name, they give you a pop culture character to hear to know when your orders are ready. The doors and the fridge are covered in community stickers. So much so that they refuse to remove the broken fridge because of how many memories are stuck to the front of it.
Bob’s Atomic Burgers feels lived in, like it couldn’t exist anywhere else. In this way, Bob’s Atomic Burgers is a perfect reflection of Golden itself. A town that resembles no other that has a community stronger than gold, housing a burger joint that mirrors the town’s spirit to a tee. They even have good food to boot. Bob’s Atomic Burgers is a staple of Golden’s community and a must-visit for everybody.
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