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Vinnie’s Dang Fine Dine owner Leroy Austin became a double winner last week when the Luverne Area Chamber honored the Luverne restaurant with the “We Love Pork” challenge trophy.
In September customers voted Austin as the “We Love Beef” burger battle winner.
“The response to our two dishes and how all the public voted is a little overwhelming,” Austin said. “We never thought we would win both contests in the first year.”
Both contest entries featured the diner’s signature menu of American cuisine with a twist.
“That’s one of the things that sets us apart — everything is made fresh daily and cooked to order,” Austin said.
A joint effort went into Vinnie’s beef entry called “Forkin’ Good Burger,” which consisted of an all-beef patty stuffed with cheese, battered in the diner’s famous Vinnie’s Crispy Batter. The stuffed patty was then deep fat fried and topped with barbecue sauce, American and Swiss cheeses, thick hickory bacon and a fried egg.
“It will be hard to beat it in the 2021 Burger Battle,” Austin said.
“The inspiration came from my son, Chandlar, who insisted we have to do something out of the ordinary to make a splash since it is our first year in the contest,” Austin said.
The beef burger was followed by the creation of “Pork Platter Like No Other” for the most recent contest.
The platter included two smoked baby back ribs with hickory smoked pulled pork on top of Texas toast. Completing the dish are Mesquite barbecue sauce and cheesy hash browns.
Austin purchased the diner in November 2019 from previous owner Vince Gacke, who closed the diner months before putting the business at the corner of Hwy. 75 and Hatting Street up for sale.
In the reopening, Austin’s focus is on the customer and a positive experience.
The burger contest wins confirm Austin’s focus is getting noticed.
“I believe what got it for us was our customer service. We received 5s (top score) on every ballot except for one of them,” Austin said.
According to the Chamber, 1,210 beef burgers were consumed in the beef contest from Aug. 17 through Sept. 19. In the pork contest, Oct. 19 through Nov. 21, 682 pork meals were sold.
Both contests occurred under state health restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic, which closed or limited indoor dining to 50 percent or less.
The restrictions came during the fourth month of business for Austin. He was forced to think of ways to regain lost income and turned to social media to increase sales.
“We do bulk orders that customers can order weekly by Monday morning and pick up Tuesday,” he said.
Austin pulled from his over 20 years of experience in the restaurant business.
At age 14 he began washing dishes and completed every job possible from cooking, service, bartending and managing over the years.
“I’ve always liked to cook. I just love food and how it makes people feel,” he said.
Austin brought a positive attitude to the difficulties of complying with the pandemic restrictions while getting his business off the ground.
“Business is obviously down quite a bit, but the people of Luverne have been very good to us. As with every restaurant or business that had to shut down in Minnesota, we struggle, but are tough, and we’ll hang in there.”
Despite the pandemic restrictions, Austin expanded operating hours and increased staff from two at the time of opening to the current four employees.
Austin said he is looking forward to 2021.
“Our hope is to expand our facilities and a new exciting experience in the coming months,” he said.
In addition to adult son Chandlar, Austin and his wife, Kristi, have one other adult son, Zach. The couple moved to Garretson, South Dakota, three years ago, where they still live.