GRAND ISLAND, Nebraska (KOLN) – Jeff Leo advises hungry customers, “Don’t let the long lines scare you away.” He said they make burgers every 12 seconds to serve people waiting in a line that sometimes stretches across the entire Heartland Events Center.
Leo is the owner of Cactus Jacks, a rustic pop-up restaurant that has made a name for itself at the Nebraska State Fair.
“We started with a small trailer and very minimal equipment,” Leo said. “We enjoyed it, but we had to grow with demand.”
Fifteen years ago, he and his wife began serving smoked meats, burgers and nachos during the eleven-day fair.
“I built myself a great kitchen out of an old shipping container, and it’s state-of-the-art inside,” Leo said. “We made it look really rustic and worn. That’s kind of the brand we’ve built over the years.”
Cactus Jacks takes over a parking lot with benches and umbrellas to provide shade for customers. Leo hangs old signs and rusted trucks and cars outside the shipping container.
Leo assembled all three vehicles.
“What’s new this year is we put a truck above the refrigerated counter so people can walk under the pickup truck,” Leo said. “It just makes it kind of fun, you know.”
He has “St. Libory Melons” painted on his race car, which is the town where he and his wife are from.
“No matter where I am in the area – I could be in Kansas or South Dakota or anywhere in Nebraska – when people ask me where I’m from, I say ‘St. Libory,'” Leo said. “The next thing that comes out of their mouth is ‘melons.’ St. Libory is known for melons, so I made them the sponsor of my little race car.”
Among the signs is one of a kayaker that reads, “Kayak Club Est. 2019.” It’s a tribute to the time when Leo kayaked down the road after the bomb cyclone that hit Nebraska five years ago. A video of him in the kayak went viral.
Displayed beneath the kayak sign are ribbons won by Cactus Jacks for their food and exhibit at the Nebraska State Fair.
“We have a variety of gourmet burgers with steak burgers, smoked meats and stuff,” Leo said. “You can get a burger that tastes like a Rueben. For example, we have a burger called Willy Wonka that’s topped with Reese’s Pieces.”
Cactus Jacks is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. south of the Heartland Events Center throughout the Nebraska State Fair.
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