The Michigan Olive Burger: The Weird Regional Burger That Somehow Works

Jul 15
4 min read

Some foods make sense right away.

A lobster roll? Of course.

A smash burger? Obviously.

A burger with chopped green olives and creamy mayo sauce?

That one takes a little more explaining.

But if you grew up around Michigan, especially near Flint, Lansing, or Grand Rapids, the olive burger is not strange at all. It is comfort food. It is regional pride. It is salty, creamy, messy, and somehow exactly right.

And for Buns Out Wednesday at The Deck Down Under, we are giving that strange little Michigan legend its moment with our version:

The Michigan Olive Burger.

Two smash patties made with Pleasant View Farm beef, melted Swiss, a toasted bun, and Chef Megan’s creamy green olive sauce.

But before we get to ours, let’s talk about where this burger came from.

Nobody Can Prove One Clean Inventor

The best part of the Michigan olive burger story is that nobody can fully agree on who invented it first.That makes it more Michigan.

The olive burger is most often tied to the old Kewpee hamburger counters that spread across Michigan in the 1920s. Kewpee itself started in Flint, Michigan in 1923 under the name Kewpee Hotel Hamburgs. The original Flint Kewpee eventually became part of the Halo Burger story, and Halo Burger still leans into that Flint history today. Their own history says the company originated in Flint in 1923 and was originally called Kewpee.

But Flint is not the only city with a claim. Lansing has Weston’s Kewpee Sandwich Shop, opened in 1923 by Gladys and William Weston. Lansing’s Olive Burger Capital history says nobody can say for certain which Kewpee location first put olives on a burger, but it credits Gladys Weston’s secret sauce with helping turn the olive burger into something legendary.

Grand Rapids also has a piece of the story through old Kewpee and Mr. Fables history. The Castle Museum notes the debate around Weston’s, Sam Blair at the Flint Kewpees, and Gerald Boyles at a Grand Rapids Kewpee. It also points out that olive burgers have been around in Michigan since at least the 1920s.

So the honest version is probably this:

Michigan invented it. Kewpee culture spread it. Lansing gave it a soul.

What Actually Makes an Olive Burger?

The classic olive burger is not complicated.

A beef patty.Swiss cheese.Green olives.Mayo or olive sauce.A bun.

Some places keep it simple with chopped green olives and mayonnaise. Others make a full olive sauce with chopped olives, mayo, olive brine, and a little seasoning. The Castle Museum describes the two main styles as either olive sauce or loose olives held onto the burger with mayonnaise.

That sauce is where the magic happens.

A pile of olives is one thing.A creamy, salty, briny olive sauce is the thing people remember.

That is also why Lansing has such a strong claim to the olive burger’s identity. Weston’s Kewpee is still open in downtown Lansing, and their official site says their most popular option is the signature Olive Burger, topped with homemade olive sauce.

Is Kewpee Still Around?

Yes, but not like it used to be.

Kewpee was once a much bigger hamburger chain. Today, the Kewpee name is rare, which makes the remaining locations feel like living burger history.

In Michigan, the big one to know is:

Weston’s Kewpee Sandwich Shop in Lansing Still serving its famous olive burger with homemade olive sauce.

The Flint side of the story lives on through Halo Burger, which traces its roots back to the original Flint Kewpee. Halo Burger’s official history says it began in Flint in 1923 and was originally called Kewpee.

There are also Kewpee Hamburgers locations in Lima, Ohio. The official Kewpee Hamburgers site lists three Lima locations today.

So if you want the short food-road-trip version:

Lansing has Weston’s Kewpee. Flint has Halo Burger history. Lima still has Kewpee Hamburgers.

Why the Olive Burger Stayed Michigan

The olive burger never really became a national burger.

It stayed weirdly regional.

That is part of the charm. Outside Michigan, people hear “green olives and mayo on a burger” and get suspicious. Around here, people just nod and ask if it comes with fries.

Some burgers are trendy.

This one is Michigan.

It is not trying to be fancy. It is not trying to be viral. It has just been quietly doing its thing for about 100 years while the rest of the country catches up.

Our Version: The Michigan Olive Smash

For Buns Out Wednesday, we wanted to honor the olive burger without turning it into something unrecognizable.

So we kept the heart of it simple:

Two smash patties made with Pleasant View Farm beefMelted Swiss cheeseToasted bunChef Megan’s creamy green olive sauce

That is it.

No need to bury it under fifteen toppings. The olive sauce is the point.

The beef brings the crusty smash burger edge. The Swiss keeps it classic. The sauce brings the salty, creamy, briny punch that makes an olive burger an olive burger.

It probably should not work. But it does.

A Simple Olive Burger Sauce You Can Try at Home

This is not Weston’s secret recipe. That one belongs to them.

But if you want to understand why olive sauce works on a burger, here is a simple Michigan-style version you can make at home.

Michigan-Style Olive Burger Sauce

Ingredients:

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup chopped green olives with pimentos

1 to 2 tablespoons olive brine

1 teaspoon yellow mustard or Dijon

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Optional: a tiny pinch of sugar

How to make it:

Mix everything together. Let it sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes so the brine and mayo can come together. Spoon it over a hot burger with Swiss cheese.

That is the basic idea: creamy, salty, briny, and just sharp enough to cut through the richness of the beef.