Kenny's Flippin' Burgers to close Chaffee location, move to Cape

Business boomed at Kenny's Flippin' Burgers when Jesse and Kasey Stuart opened the restaurant's first location in Chaffee, Missouri, in 2017.

Now, Jesse Stuart said, they'll once again try to bring that success to downtown Cape Girardeau.

The Chaffee location will close Wednesday, and a new location in Cape Girardeau will open in November, Jesse Stuart said last week.

"We're kind of to the point where we're outgrowing the Chaffee location," Stuart said. "We figured with Cape being a central location in Southeast Missouri, it would be good to bring something more to the downtown market."

Kenny's once held a second location in Cape Girardeau's West Park Mall. It opened in 2018 and closed two years ago, Jesse Stuart said. The location did well, but he said he did not want to stay in a mall.

Kenny's Flippin' Burgers, 238 Yoakum in Chaffee, Missouri, will close this week in preparation for its move to Cape Girardeau this fall.JAY WOLZ

Though, he said it was always his intention to bring Kenny's back to Cape.

The burger joint is one of four businesses slated to open inside the Rialto Retail and Residential Development at 430 Broadway. Kenny's will join Speck Pizza and Street Food, Brickwood Boutique and another yet-to-be-announced business.

Jesse Stuart said the restaurant's move will not bring too many changes to the business. It will keep its iconic name derived from Casey Stuart's father who died in 2015.

"He would say stuff like, 'Let's go over to such and such and get one of their flippin' burgers," Jesse Stuart told Southeast Missourian when the restaurant opened in 2017. "We wanted to do something in his memory that he would have appreciated and enjoyed."

The move will, however, bring a few new menu items, such as the Italian Stallion -- a Philly steak burger wrapped in mozzarella cheese and topped with garlic aioli.

Hungry Southeast Missourians can still get their Kenny's Flippin' Burgers fix between the time the Chaffee location closes and the location in Cape Girardeau opens. Between now and then, the restaurant will operate out of its mobile food trailer, according to Stuart.

A weekly schedule detailing the trailer's travel plans will be posted on Kenny's Flippin' Burger's Facebook page, facebook.com/kennysflippinburgers.