A ribbon-cutting event was held on April 27 in downtown Flint for the reopening of the Halo Burger on Saginaw Street. A line of people gathered around the front and past the back corner of the building, as the first 300 customers would receive a commemorative Boston Cooler glass.
The Boston Cooler is a call-back to the origins of the building itself, which used to be a Vernor’s Ginger Ale soda shop that opened in 1929.
The initial closing of the location in 2023 was due to the brick restoration project, among other things. “There were a lot of projects in downtown that really brought us down and made it to where we couldn’t reopen,” Rob Kulza, chief operations officer of Halo Burger, said.
The city of Flint Mayor Sheldon Neely, Genesee County Chamber of Commerce members and other officials spoke at the reopening. Mayor Neely said that Halo Burger “is part of the DNA in Flint.”
The motivation for some customers waiting in line was not only for merchandise, but also to revisit nostalgia from this particular location.
Customers waiting in line at Halo Burger. Photo taken on April 27 by Andres Ochoa. 
Customers waiting in line around the corner of Halo Burger. Photo taken on April 27 by Andres Ochoa. 
Customers waiting in line at Halo Burger. Photo taken on April 27 by Andres Ochoa. 
Interior of Halo Burger. Photo taken on April 27 by Andres Ochoa.
“This is a core memory of Flint … since I was a kid, since childhood, the dino nuggets were my first infatuation as a child in the drive-thru.” Bee Robertson, a customer waiting in line at the reopening, said. Robertson described their feelings on the closing of the restaurant in 2023 as “absolute devastation and despair.”
Shirley, a Flint resident and a customer waiting in line, said, “Halo Burger means a lot, because Halo Burger has been a staple of Flint for a long time.”
With efforts to preserve the restaurant’s original Spanish Mediterranean style of the restaurant still in place, Kulza said that they wanted to keep the history without making major changes, “We didn’t want to change anything.”
Preserving the ceilings’ Spanish Mediterranean style was a point of care as pieces were broken and missing. “There were a couple of pieces up in the ceiling that were broken and missing, so we had to try and replicate the old age … just making sure the structure, the bones, and the look and feel were still there,” Kulza said.
The space now features chandeliers and gold accents on the beams with painted patterns reflecting the original design.
