'It's exceptionally hard to accept,' company president says as last Regina Burger Baron closes

The man in armour is an iconic symbol for many Regina burger fans, but the days of getting Baron sauce in Regina are over.

Regina's last Burger Baron restaurant, which opened opened about 58 years ago, has closed due to financial pressures and a legion of loyal customers are calling it the end of an era.

It's also the end of a family legacy.

James McDonnell's mother, Rikie, worked at a Calgary Burger Baron back in the late '50s when it was owned by James's father, Jack.

"Romance ensued," said James McDonnell.

Jack set up the Regina shop, and Rikie took it over after his death. James joined his mother as co-owner in the late '90s.

Regina's two Burger Baron locations (the other closed four years ago) were the only ones James was involved with. While there are Burger Baron restaurants across Western Canada, the restaurants are independently owned, as opposed to being part of a franchise.

"My dad was a man I idolized and I lost him when I was eight," McDonnell said. "This — me operating this business — has been a tribute to his legacy and it's exceptionally hard to accept," James said.

But, in the end, McDonnell said he's a businessman, and in early June, after seeing unprecedented losses, he made the decision to close.

Still, it was so emotional for McDonnell that while he was in Regina for Burger Baron's last day, he couldn't bring himself to go to the restaurant to see it off.

'I ran an exceptional restaurant'

McDonnell has four sons.

"They'll never know my history, they'll never understand my history. I ran an exceptional restaurant," he said.

He moved to Calgary last year, leaving married couple and longtime Burger Baron staffers Colleen and Greg Hamblin as co-managers and partners in running the Regina restaurant.

They added their own family element to the business, as their daughter Nicky also worked there.

They all have job prospects after the closure, with Greg having started work at a car dealership on Wednesday, McDonnell said. He still owns a cleaning company in Regina, and said he's offered jobs to anyone who needs work.

James told CBC's Morning Edition that running the Burger Baron as an independent business had its pros and cons.

"I enjoy the flexibility of a non-franchised business. I mean, controlling your own destiny, making your own business decisions — right or wrong, making your own decisions — it's been great. Family dynamics can be challenging at times but it's been very beneficial for myself and our family," he said.

'A tough economy' for restaurants

James said there were multiple factors behind the decision to close down. A change in traffic patterns reduced traffic past Burger Baron, which led to a decline in revenue. He also cites an overdevelopment of the industry in Regina.

"There's an immense amount of franchises that recently opened up the last five, seven, eight years that has just put a real pressure point on a lot of independent restaurants," he said.

"Regina's a tough economy now for restaurants."

James said his supplier, who supplies for restaurants all over Regina, called June the toughest month he's faced in the 20 years he's been in the business.

A complex history

Burger Baron's presence in Canada is quite amorphous.

There is no uniformity to any of the restaurants found across Western Canada (mainly in Alberta): some operate as drive-thrus, others as more formal dine-in restaurants; some use original logos and others use the same sign design that stood in Regina (which James has been told was drawn by his father).

However, when it comes to who opened the first Burger Baron, James is resolute that it was his father.

There were franchising, trademarking and proprietary efforts at Burger Barons over the years, which were met with mixed success. Regina's has always been independent.

It underwent a facelift in 2013, when James opted to rebrand it as "Baron's Fresh Grill" due to marketing considerations.

James said success was mixed, saying "it did not adapt as well as we anticipated in Regina" but it did gain some new customers.

The East Regina location was the last one standing after James sold the land where the North Regina location (which was Regina's original Burger Baron) had stood.

That location closed in late 2014.