That Quad Cities classic we know as the Maid-Rite is a home-grown specialty.
You can trace the origin of the sandwich directly to Muscatine.
“It’s something different than a hamburger, got a better flavor to me,” says long-time customer Arlin Hicks.
“It’s just the taste. You can’t get a hamburger that tastes like the maid rite,” says customer Ralph Alatorre. “It just brings you back to the old days.”
To see how it all began, we go way back to 1926 to the south end of Muscatine.
A bored butcher named Fred Angell was messing around with meat – grinding and spicing – and the Maid-Rite sandwich was born!
His store began one of the first food franchises in the United States, beating McDonald’s by three decades.
Larry Selser had his first Maid-Rite at age 8.
Many years later, he became part of the local phenomenon —as a maid-rite owner.
In its heyday in the 60s and 70s, there were more than 600 Maid-Rite’s across the midwest – stretching from Iowa to Illinois, Minnesota to Missouri.
Now, that number is down to 34 across the region, and five in the Quad Cities – all owned by Selser.
The Maid-Rite loose meat sandwich has always been the most popular dish.
“It’s a fun thing to eat because it makes a mess. Kids love it,” says Selser. “You really shouldn’t eat it with ketchup – mustard, onion, pickle is the way to go.”
The fresh ground beef is steamed, seasoned as it’s slowly cooked, and crumbled down to a fine product.
Often imitated, never replicated, it’s become a fabric of the community.
What keeps Dave Ruscton coming back? “It’s a great atmosphere, nice people, and the service too.”
“I have very loyal customers,” says waitress Donna Parr, “and each one of us here has loyal customers, and it’s so special to see them follow this company from location to location. It’s one big happy family.”
Maid-Rite is celebrating its 91st anniversary this year.
Selser says expect something big, if he’s still around for the centennial!
