A Sturgis Burger Visit That Didn’t Quite Live Up To The Hype

Ever since I moved to Kalamazoo in 2017, people everywhere have been telling me how much I need to go to Sturgis and get Hot N' Now cheeseburgers. In fact, anytime that I mentioned that I’m headed over to Sturgis for any reason, the one question I’ve been getting is, “Did you stop at Hot N' Now?"

Truthfully, it’s been eight years since I moved to the west side of the state and had never checked out this Burger chain, which at one point was on the verge of completely collapsing.

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But the popularity of this one location helped spawn the announcement of multiple locations in West Michigan, with the most recent opening in Wayland. Recently, I had a routine dentist appointment in Sturgis and figured that afterward I would finally make this stop at this burger place.

Besides, so many people had told me about it and raved about it for years that I figured it was about time I had my mind blown by their food. I went through the drive-through and ordered an Olive burger and a cheeseburger just to get the full experience.

The result was two burgers that were… just okay.

I was disappointed that their burgers were just okay. People have been swearing about these things up and down and taking sometimes more than one hour commute one way to get these things, and after eating both of them, I couldn’t understand why.

I couldn’t understand why anybody would drive so long to get burgers that were just okay.

Now, when it comes to food in general, everything is subjective. There are some people out there who think these burgers are the best you can get. But I would argue that they’re french fries are much more unique tasting than their burgers.

So for anybody who has not yet tried Hot N' Now, make sure that when you’re on your way to get them, you keep an open mind. They were by no means a bad burger, but I just won’t ever drive an hour to get them again.

Ultimately, I’m happy that they continue to expand, and they are bouncing back, as so many people hold them in such high regard and consider them the best burgers you can get. It’s great for local business and employment, so go support the new restaurants in the original in Sturgis.