From the Runza website:
The roots of the Runza® Sandwich – a mixture of ground beef, cabbage, onion, and special spices baked inside homemade bread – stretch all the way back to 18th century Russia. In 1763, Germans who were invited to settle in the Volga region of Russia by Czarina Catherine the Great, developed the unique sandwich known as a bierock. A century later, many of the Germans immigrated to America due to a change in Russian leadership. Among those German-Russian immigrants was the Brening Family, who brought the bierock recipe with them to a farm near Sutton, Nebraska. Sally Everett and her brother, Alex Brening, founded the company in 1949 and opened the first location near Pioneers Park with a $500 investment. In 1966, Sally’s son, Donald Everett, purchased the rights to the Runza® Sandwich, federally trademarked the name, and opened his first Runza® Restaurant at 56th & Holdrege. As the chain slowly expanded, Don ensured quality was never compromised for the sake of growth. Donald Everett, Jr., President, stated, “My grandmother was a pioneer in the restaurant business.
She quickly developed a reputation for quality food and service. It was on this strong foundation that the chain of Runza® Restaurants was built. She knew the key to success was to provide honest value through superior food and service.” Runza® Restaurants possess a genuine commitment to maintain high quality products and customer service that helped launch the
popularity 60 years ago. Runza® Restaurants – famous for the Runza® Sandwich with its delicious blend of ground beef,
cabbage, onions and secret spices baked inside homemade bread; made-to-order hamburgers; and homemade onion rings – operates and franchises 83 restaurants in Nebraska (79), Colorado (2),
Iowa (1) and Kansas (1).
http://www.runza.com/
