Byegone restaurants / Mr. Kelly's: An Old-School Favorite in Condesa
Opened in 1968, the restaurant's iconic Insurgentes Sur branch has now taken its final bow, accompanied by the melancholic strains of "Las Golondrinas."
By Alejandro Pohlenz
Some hamburger restaurants sprouted before the arrival of McDonald's (which sells 75 hamburgers per second) in 1985 (do you remember the branch on Periférico, in Polanco?). In Food Police we already told you about Burger Boy (which died in 1996), although we haven't referred to other extinct hamburgers like Tomboy, with car service, like in the movies, and Bonanza. All were liquidated by the transnational McDonald's and Burger King. Today, we already have a true foreign intrusion in our country: Sliders, Shake Shack (opened in Reforma in 2019), Wendy's, Carl's Jr., Johnny Rockets, Five Guys... ugh! How was Mr. Kelly's going to withstand it?
What did Mr. Kelly's offer to eat?
Well, it resisted until November 24, 2024, after 56 years of heroic existence. It emerged a little after Burger Boy, in 1972 (I was 11 years old) and survived several crises, including the pandemic. A place closed forever that, in addition to offering juicy hamburgers with lots of cheese, prepared salads, wraps, nuggets and sandwiches, and lately, Greek-style tacos (fried and folded with lettuce and meat).
Gastronomic globalization
In its heyday, Mr. Kelly, hamburgers designated by customers as "the classics of the Condesa", expanded to Avenida Universidad and Tecamachalco (in the end only the one in Insurgentes remained). Their packages had names like Mr. Classic, Mr. Hawaii, Mr. Tacos, Mr. BBQ, Mr. Chicken, Mr. Roast Beef and Mr. Grand, among others. One user declared something fascinating: "I have a broken heart; that's where my parents' first date was."
It is not clear why the four-leaf clover hamburger restaurant passed away. Its death is attributed to what they call: "gastronomic globalization." Could it be that or that the owners simply wanted to retire? After all, owning a restaurant is an extremely enslaving job.
The phrase: "no one knows what they have until they see it lost" applies perfectly in this case. People stopped going to Mr. Kelly's, but when they put a blanket over the green facade, communicating its closure, the fans burst into tears and lined up for up to two hours to go on the last day... How curious we are sometimes! Right?
Address: Avenida Insurgentes Sur 337, Condesa, CDMX
Permanently closed.
