Bud’s celebrates 60 years in Boynton

Celebrating 60 years in Boynton Beach, Bud’s Chicken & Seafood, which sits on the edge of the railroad tracks with a 100-year old Banyan tree offering shade to its customers, has been family owned and operated since 1957.

It was founded by Bud Brinkman, who came to Pompano Beach from Minnesota during the 1950s. He headed north to Boynton Beach and opened the restaurant in the 1960s. After he died in 1969, the restaurant has been run by his four sons – Tim, 56, Mark, 58, Tom, 61, and Michael, 66, along with two nephews.

“We like being local,” Mark Brinkman said in a video created by the Boynton Beach Historical Society. “We like to know our customers, our employees and what’s going on in the store every day.”

Because the brothers have such deep roots in the community, they often run into friends they know from childhood or little league at the restaurant.

“It’s a real sense of community,” said Brinkman, who grew up in Boynton Beach. “We consider Boynton Beach home.”

“Bud’s Chicken was a Friday night tradition for many families before I-95 was here,” he said. “People grew up on it and now on our Facebook page, we get many posts from people who grew up here and now return with their grandkids.”

“It’s awesome how long we’ve been able to stay in business,” Brinkman said.

Menu items include chicken finger dinners for $8.75, 20 wings for $16.99 and a fish dinner for $8.99. The restaurant is featuring its limited time Seafood Fest, which offers shrimp, oysters, scallops and clams.

Retired nurse Judy Waas has been dropping by Bud’s for at least 30 years.

“It’s convenient and the food is wonderful,” she said as she ordered a chicken lunch to go.

The restaurant has a commissary kitchen in Boynton Beach in which all of its tartar and cocktail sauces with the same original recipes, as well as coleslaw and potato and macaroni salads are made.

Jed Marquis, a physical therapist who lives in the area, said he eats there frequently.

“If I’m hungry on my way home, I’ll go straight to the drive-through and get a chicken sandwich or a grilled fish sandwich,” he said. “There’s usually a long line at the drive-through, but it’s worth it. It’s fast food, but tastes like real food.”

Janet DeVries, past president of the Boynton Beach Historical Society, which has been chronicling the history of the restaurant, said, “I can’t imagine Boynton Beach without Bud’s or eating Bud’s someplace other than Boynton Beach.”

DeVries has been going there since the 1980s when she used to stop by on her way to the beach to pick up a picnic lunch.

“The meals used to come between two thick paper plates stapled together. We’d pick up a couple dinners and head to Boynton Oceanfront Park or the Boynton Inlet to relax and unwind,” she said.

“The Brinkmans are an integral part of our community,” DeVries said. “They hire local kids to work in their restaurants and sponsor many local events, including the East Boynton Beach Little League teams.”

Some of the teens working there now include Breanna Drago, Lisandra Rosario and Christopher Hyppolite.

DeVries said when many people move away, they miss Bud’s and it’s often their first destination when they return for a visit, and their last destination before they leave again.

The restaurant has seven locations throughout Palm Beach County, including Greenacres, West Palm Beach, Royal Palm Beach and North Palm Beach.

“The secret to their success is the hard work the family puts into the restaurant,” DeVries said. “I’m amazed to see how hard they work. If they sold the business to someone else, it wouldn’t be the same at all.”

Bud’s Chicken and Seafood is at 509 E. Boynton Beach Blvd. Call 561-732-3618.

jengoren@tronc.com