Sauk Rapids couple set for tasty adventure

(Editor’s note: Tracy Rittmueller, one of the subjects in the following story, worked as a freelance writer for a time for the Newsleaders newspapers under the name of Tracy Lee Karner.)

by Darren Diekmann

news@thenewsleader.com

What do you do if you love a good burger but can never find a restaurant that serves one that meets your high standards? For Ken and Tracy Rittmueller of Sauk Rapids, the answer was simple — start your own restaurant.

Ken is really the burger lover and after he retired, Ken and Tracy traveled far and wide looking for a burger that would satisfy.

“He was reading books about who’s got the best burger,” Tracy said. “He could never find it. Finally he said, ‘I am going to open a restaurant, so I can eat the burger I want and have someone cook it for me.’”

Now, after a few years of planning, Ken’s idea of the perfect burger will be served when the couple’s vision for the “World Burger Co.” is realized, and they open their first World Burger restaurant on Monday, Oct. 3 in Sundial Village Mall in Waite Park.

Ken is adamant about what makes their burgers special — chuck-steak burgers made exclusively from certified Angus beef.

“Certified Angus beef is different than just Angus beef or anything else,” Rittmueller explained. “The difference is like this: do you want to wear a silk shirt or one that is made out of a gunny sack? . . . There’s no possible way, on the face of the earth, to buy better beef than certified Angus beef.”

The World Burger website provides information on the characteristics of certified Angus beef.

As the name suggests, the menu will consist of a half dozen world-themed burgers, as well as traditional American versions and a build-your-own option. All burgers and sandwiches are served on fresh-baked buns.

The Rittmuellers became aware of a change in America’s taste profile to include more global spices and ingredients. That change gave them a chance to explore and to experiment with burgers.

“Our Italian burger has ricotta cheese, marinara (sauce), a nice hunk of mozzarella melted over the top and sealed right on, almost like a Jucy Lucy, and when you bite into that it’s like biting into Italy,” Ken said.

The menu also includes a number of vegetarian sandwiches.

“There are a lot of carnivores who live with vegetarians,” Tracy said. “They want to come in together and eat, so we designed a menu that gives them choices.”

Ken’s enthusiasm for a great burger makes a good story, but it’s not the whole story. Tracy has been unable to work outside the home because of a chronic pain disorder that affects her intermittently.

“I don’t have the stamina to work at a steady job,” she explained.

“Part of this [opening of World Burger] was Ken being concerned that he build something that will support me, without me having to have hands-on involvement,” she said.

The restaurant will allow her the flexibility to work when she is able.

Before this, in the 1980s, she worked as a director of youth services for three parishes in Faribault. She earned a degree at the University of Minnesota in English literature and creative writing, and taught creative writing, theater and religious education workshops. More recently she has worked as a freelance writer and publisher.

The flexibility of freelance work has allowed her to write a half-dozen or so pieces for the Newsleader newspapers from March to July this year.

Despite the disorder, Tracy has been working long hours as of late. She has been hiring personnel for the restaurant and just recently finished designing several posters displayed in the restaurant depicting places from around the world: Paris, France; Italy; Germany, among others. In order to do that, she spent the summer teaching herself Adobe Suite, a graphic design program used to make the posters. She has also been busy working at the Rittmuellers’ small publishing company.

“She has been busy burning the candle at both ends,” Ken said.

Her main role in the business will be to continue with the hiring, essentially being the “personnel department” for the company.

One of the reasons companies fail, small or large, is a failure to hire good people. The Rittmuellers are taking this aspect of the business very seriously, Ken explained. He has come to believe this after having opened and operated several restaurants and built the the largest residential-roofing company in New Hampshire, Ken Rittmueller Roofing.

The Rittmuellers are looking for team-oriented and hospitality-oriented employees.

“We are searching for people who realize they must be supportive of their teammates,” Tracy said. “And we want people who understand the importance of hospitality. We want to build a community of people who gives back to the community that supports them.”

The choice of location had a lot to do about returning to family. They have two sons living in Elk River.

Before moving to Minnesota in February, the Rittmuellers had lived in the New England area for several years and thought about opening a restaurant there.

“We couldn’t talk our children into moving out to be with us, so we moved back,” Tracy said.

They also said they couldn’t find a business climate as welcoming as the St. Cloud area.

“And everything is so well laid out,” Ken said. “The powers that be for the last 30 years have planned this all so well.”

With such a good business climate, Ken and Tracy do not plan on stopping with just one World Burger. After they have been in this location for a few months, they will start thinking about where to build the next one. Ken said he wouldn’t be surprised if they expand to nine or more throughout Minnesota.