Palestine welcomes Jucys Hamburgers
May 13—A long line of Palestine residents are already big fans of the new Jucys Hamburger restaurant that quietly opened May 1.
"I was super excited for Palestine to be getting a Jucys burger seeing that I had ate at the Tyler location many times and it was always great," said Tina Morton. "We went the first day it was open and it did not disappoint."
"It was on point," said Tammy Williams. "Absolutely fantastic. Place was packed and the drive-thru was very long and they were still knocking out orders. Didn't see anyone at the counter over mistakes just order after order. We will be returning."
"It's amazing! Food reminds me of a home cooked meal you would get with friends and family gathering outside instead of a fast food meal," said Jennifer Willard.
According to Jucys Co-Owner Debbie Maxey, the Jucys brand started 30 years ago in Longview.
The company was founded by her husband, the late Ronny Maxey, who passed away in 2020. It is family owned and operated. Debbie said she works alongside her children and her teen grandchildren help out during summer break. At any day of the week you can find a Maxey family member working in one of their restaurants.
"All but one of our children work for our company," Debbie said. "She works for Edward Jones, but her husband works with us."
Their restaurant chain includes six hamburger locations, six Jucys Tacos and the Mexican restaurant T. Blanco's.
They have been serving full-flavor burgers, collected to order for 40 years and were recognized by Texas Highways Magazine as the #1 Burger in Texas in 2015.
Almost everything is made fresh. Fries are fresh cut from potatoes. They grind beef twice daily for their burgers and cut avocados right before they get placed on your burger. There are no leftovers served the next day.
A novelty for diners at Jucys Hamburgers are the free pinto beans. Debbie said that she's not quite sure where her husband got the idea to serve free beans while customers wait for their burgers to be made. But he found what he thought was a good recipe and the rest is history. Beans are made fresh daily and always ready for customers when they make their orders.
Jucys Hamburger's also offers breakfast with a menu that features chicken and waffles, avocado toast and biscuits — all made fresh that day.
Debbie said their employees go through a special customer service training with a focus of making people feel welcome and apparently it paid off.
"Customer service is amazing," said Jennifer Williard. "You feel welcomed from start to finish when you get there."
"The thing I like about Jucys is the food is phenomenal and the staff are amazing," said Wendy McFarland. "And I'm not just saying that because my husband Theodore McFarland works there. I love how everything is made fresh. They also have awesome managers who really care about their employees and that's what makes a great restaurant."
Prior to making the Palestine location a Jucys Hamburger, the Maxey's opened a Jucys Taco here. Those that loved Jucys Tacos questioned why it can't be a two-in-one location?
"Tacos are a made-fast order and hamburgers take time," Debbie said. "The wait time for having both and trying to serve them fresh in a mixed order is not compatible."
The Maxey family wants Palestine to know they are very community minded and look forward to being a community partner in Palestine. Founder Ronny Maxey's love of serving food was mirrored in serving people. Debbie said his family and his team are continuing that tradition.
Jucys is located at 2702 W. Oak St. in Palestine. They are open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Saturday for dine-in, drive-thru or delivery.
For more information log onto jucyshamburgers.com or call 903-727-0455.
