Retired Purdue coach Gene Keady gets his own diner burger

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) - Around the corner from the classic candies and retro toys, retired Purdue University basketball coach Gene Keady took a seat at the counter.

Surrounded by friends and family, Keady waited for a new burger offered at Route 66 Diner.

The new Coach Keady's JamaicaMeCrazy Burger debuted at Route 66 on April 7. Priced at $9.65, the burger consists of a sirloin patty, garlic butter, blue cheese dressing, crushed pineapple and Jamaican jerk seasonings. The burger joins the restaurant's other creations named after athletic figures, but Keady is the first coach.

"I've always eaten at Triple XXX and of course Route 66 has always had athlete sandwiches," Keady said. "I always wondered why coaches didn't have a sandwich named after them, so I asked the owners here why."

Carrie and Greg Ehresman own Route 66 and Triple XXX. Greg said this is usually how sports figures get on the menu.

"With Nick Hardwick, Ryan Kerrigan and Ashley Burkhardt: all three of those people came in the restaurant all the time," Greg said. "It just fun to be on the menu and fun for us to do it."

The naming of burgers began before the Ehersmans acquired the business, but they have kept up the tradition.

Kathleen Petrie-Keady, Gene's wife, is the creator of the sandwich. She first made it at the Warren Tavern in Charlestown, Mass., which she used to run.

"We use Jamaican jerk, because sometimes he's a jerk, but I love him to death," Kathleen said. "All the ingredients, they work for each other as far as a low-carb diet."

Coach Keady's JamaicaMeCrazy Burger is expected to come to the Triple XXX sometime in the future, Greg said.

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Source: (Lafayette) Journal Courier, http://on.jconline.com/2of4bde

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Information from: Journal and Courier, http://www.jconline.com