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By Carey Reeder | Staff Writer

After months of anticipation, Milo’s Hamburgers opened its doors on Oct. 11 with a private ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate. The 76-year old Alabama food chain made Clanton their 24th location in Central and North Alabama. The first burgers and chicken made its way through the fryers and grills during the ribbon cutting ceremony, and the first official day for all customers is Oct. 13.

“It is really nice and refreshing to finally be serving Clanton, and it is very exciting, and we have been looking forward to it for a while,” Mary Duncan Proctor, Milo’s marketing director, said. “Clanton is a really strong community, and it is one of those cities that is right off of Interstate 65 where a lot of our fans and followers come from. It really is the perfect spot … It made perfect sense for us to be right here.”

Milo’s tested the Clanton market last year through Burger Bus events, and each time, it was a success, according to Milo’s CEO Tom Dekle. Dekle himself is no stranger to the Chilton County having previously lived on Lake Mitchell for many years.

Milo’s in Clanton is serving a new peach pie that is an exclusive to the Clanton location. While the other flavors of pies are available, only the peach pie is made from scratch by Suzie’s Southern Fried Pies in Calera and brought to Milo’s each day.

“I love Clanton … We have always stopped for the wonderful peaches, and Clanton is an awesome community,” Dekle said. When this project became available we just jumped at it. We love the community (of Clanton) and the proximity to the interstate, and we think that is going to be a great combination. We always want to be a part of the community, and being close to these other traffic generators we think it is a unique opportunity.”

Milo’s will be having special offers to the first 100 customers during each of its first three days of business. On Oct. 13, the first 100 customers will receive a bottle of Milo’s signature sauce, and a coupon for a free original cheeseburger. On Oct. 14, the first 100 customers will receive a Milo’s hat, and a coupon for a free chicken sandwich. On Oct. 15, the first 100 customers will receive a Milo’s Tervis tumble, and a coupon for a free scratch-made peach pie.

Milo’s will also be partnering with Butterfly Bridge Children’s Advocacy Center in Clanton and donating 20% of all kid’s meals the first week of business.

“Butterfly Bridge serves children who come to us during their darkest hours,” Jana Zuelzke, executive director of Butterfly Bridge, said in a press release. “It truly takes our community coming together to help children heal after suffering from the trauma of abuse. We are so grateful for our partnership with Milo’s as they open their new store in Clanton. This type of investment from local partners helps us continue carrying out our mission to provide hope, healing and justice.”

Milo’s has a strong relationship with kids in the communities they are based in, according to Proctor. When they knew they were coming to Clanton, Milo’s began looking for organizations that help children and how they can help, and the Butterfly Bridge partnership was born.

“We have a partnership with them in Montgomery, and so we knew a lot about them and knew it was a great organization, and we wanted to do whatever we could to help,” Proctor said.

All of Milo’s employees that will be working at the Clanton location were in attendance for the ribbon cutting ceremony. Many Chilton County figureheads were in attendance as well including Chilton County Chamber of Commerce executive director Rachel Martin and Clanton Mayor Jeff Mims.

“It feels good to have them here, and this is just the beginning,” Mims said. “We have been working on this forever trying to get someone in (Clanton) … We got with the developer, worked out the deals and it worked out.”

Milo’s is located at 2109 7th Street South in Clanton between Starbucks and Burger King. Milo’s hours are 10:30 a.m. – 9 p.m. seven days a week.