Read time: 9 min.

Whether you’re craving biscuits and gravy, a three-egg omelet, a western skillet, or warm cinnamon-raisin biscuits buried beneath a blanket of icing, Muncie’s fast food connoisseurs know exactly where to go for breakfast. Around here, the gold standard doesn’t come on fine china. Instead, it arrives piping hot in a humble foam takeout container from Mac’s! For generations, the best breakfast in town has been a Mac’s breakfast.

Mac’s Famous Hamburger Systems was founded by Doyne Crum in Michigantown, Indiana¹. The first Mac’s opened in Frankfort in the mid-sixties- certainly by 1967². Another outpost opened in Indianapolis at 10th and Post Road in 1970³. In 1971, Crum formed a new company with Bill Kelly and Wade Von Kleeck that opened a Kelly’s Family Restaurant in Muncie. Von Kleeck had been the Executive Vice President of Mr. Fifteen and Burger Man⁴, a chain of restaurants first known for its fifteen-cent burgers and landmark fiberglass statues⁵. 

By 1972, Mac’s Famous Hamburgers had grown to eight locations in Indiana and Ohio⁶. A year later, Burger Man found itself unable to pay its bills and was near insolvency. The chain shuttered its outposts and announced that some of its buildings would be marketed to others ready to operate under different names⁷. One of those suitors was Mac’s. 

In 1974, Von Kleeck and Kelly purchased Burger Man at Kilgore and Batavia in Muncie, which opened as Mac’s Famous Hamburgers after it added a drive-through window and seating for eighty people⁸. By the following year, more Mac’s Family Restaurants operated restaurants in Muncie, Connersville, Frankfort, and New Castle, along with Ohio locations in Fairfield, Oxford, and Sharonville. Beyond its fast food stations, Mac’s Family Steakhouses stood in Greenfield, Indy, and New Castle⁹. 

Mac’s eventually opened three stores in Muncie. The first was the one at Kilgore and Batavia, while the second stood on Madison Street. A third opened in 1997 in an old Rax Roast Beef¹⁰. Unfortunately, Mac’s on Madison closed in 2021. The restaurant on Batavia closed two years later¹¹. What I believe to be the last Mac’s standing anywhere is at 1121 West McGalliard road along Muncie’s main commercial strip. That’s where I go for breakfast. 

I normally go for the sampler platter -an enormous portion with three eggs, two bacon strips, a sausage patty, hash rounds, sausage gravy and a biscuit- for $7.79, then don’t plan on eating lunch. When I last visited, though, I headed for the western skillet. It’s also $7.79 and comes with a western blend of sausage, ham, bacon, green peppers, and onions; scrambled eggs; gravy; and hash rounds. A large Diet soda brings the total to $10.56. Whatever I get, I always eat it in the car.

Here’s the Western Skillet. Despite the name, there isn’t much that’s actually “skillet” about it by the time it lands in the foam container- unless you count whatever pan it was cooked in. Regardless, it’s a glorious heap of unapologetic indulgence, the sort of breakfast that laughs in the face of moderation. No, it isn’t health food or haute cuisine. It’s a blue-collar breakfast done exactly right, and every bite is as satisfying as it looks.

I snapped this photo the moment I cracked open the foam container. If the streaks of gravy plastered across the lid aren’t a sign of quality, I don’t know what is. This isn’t a breakfast that arrives meticulously plated with tweezers and microgreens. Instead, it tumbles together into a glorious mess! For an inexpensive, hearty Hoosier breakfast you can eat from the glory of your car, it’s awfully hard to beat.

After I finished writing this post -but before I hit publish this morning- I realized there was one thing missing. Naturally, I had to make a breakfast run to Mac’s and order the Sampler Platter so I could include it, too. Just look at this glorious pile of breakfast slop! The sausage patty is hiding beneath the biscuit, buried under enough food to keep anyone full for the rest of the day. Indeed, I didn’t eat again for about twelve hours.

Mac’s keeps old-school hours these days, serving customers from 6:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday before taking Sundays off. You’re out of luck if you’re hoping for dinner, but the good news is that breakfast never leaves the menu. Whether you’re grabbing a biscuit at sunrise or stumbling in just before closing after sleeping half the day away, it’s always the right time for the full lineup of wraps, platters, skillets, and sandwiches.

When I first decided to write up Mac’s and its awesome breakfasts, I realized that my photos didn’t due the Western Skillet justice from a gastronomical perspective. Concurrently, I realized that I hadn’t been inside, or eaten lunch at Mac’s, in years! I decided to rectify that and invited my brother out to get the full perspective. Very few things but the menu board seem to have been updated at Mac’s since it opened in 1997. I also noticed that the old microphones the cashiers used to yell out your order have been replaced by modern point-of-sales. Mac’s has gone digital.

Here’s a look inside Mac’s dining room, complete with one of my favorite features: a Rax-era greenhouse. There was something wonderfully optimistic about these solariums that popped up on restaurants in the 1980s and early 1990s! I can’t resist eating in one whenever I get the chance.

Mac’s Super Loin, hot ham and cheese, and patty melt have all earned repeat visits. This time, though, I decided to keep it simple and ordered the quarter-pound Super Mac combo with crinkle-cut fries and a drink. Onion chips and hash rounds were tempting alternatives, but a burger and fries just felt right. Here’s the Super Mac, fresh out of its wrapper. The first thing you’ll notice is the bun: soft, shiny, and delightfully wrinkled from the steam it trapped on the ride to my table. Presentation clearly isn’t what Mac’s is selling. Instead, they provide the kind of meal that says, “Quit taking pictures and start eating.” Frankly, that’s exactly what I did.

My brother, meanwhile, went with the chicken tenders. At first glance, they almost look more like oversized potato wedges thanks to the shape and golden breading. They weren’t especially crispy, but they arrived piping hot, and John said the chicken itself was moist and flavorful. The crinkle-cut fries were fresh out of the fryer too, though we both agreed they could have used another shake or two of salt. Even so, they were exactly the sort of straightforward, no-frills side you’d expect at a place like Mac’s. Sometimes that’s all you really want.

I disassembled my Super Mac for one final photo before I tucked in. Here’s what was under the hood: iceberg lettuce and mayo on top of the patty, with pickles, diced white onion, ketchup, and mustard below. The burger itself was fine, but the toasted bun was what really won me over. It added just enough texture and buttery flavor to elevate an otherwise straightforward fast-food burger. Do any of the national chains bother to toast their buns? It’s a small touch, but one that makes the Super Mac feel like it came from a kitchen instead of an assembly line.

Overall, my Super Mac combo came to just $7.49. Making it a large added only ninety-nine cents, bringing the grand total to $9.16 with tax. John’s chicken tender combo landed at about the same price range, and we both walked away feeling like we’d gotten every penny’s worth. That’s becoming increasingly rare. In an era of fast-food hyperinflation, a large Quarter Pounder with Cheese meal or a Whopper combo can easily run eleven dollars or more. At Mac’s, we spent less, ate well, and supported a locally owned business that’s been serving central Indiana for decades. That’s a combination the national chains like Wendell’s and Burger Tyrant can’t compete with.

Restaurants like Mac’s are becoming increasingly uncommon. While national chains chase the latest menu gimmicks and remodel themselves into sleek, interchangeable boxes, Mac’s has stayed remarkably true to what made it successful in the first place: hot breakfasts served all day, straightforward burgers, reasonable prices, and a loyal customer base that keeps coming back. Whether you’re craving biscuits and gravy at two in the afternoon, a toasted burger for lunch, or simply a taste of Indiana’s roadside restaurant culture, Mac’s is well worth the stop. After nearly sixty years in business, it’s clear they’ve figured out something many larger competitors haven’t: good food, fair prices, and consistency never go out of style.

Sources Cited
1 Bigger, R. (1972, October 25) Family Restaurant Changes Its Name, but Not Owners. The Muncie Evening Press. p. 31.
2 Once Again- Restaurant Not Afire (1967, April 4). The Lafayette Journal and Courier. p. 10. 
3 1st Mac’s Is Expanding To Satisfy Dining Needs (1980, October 12). The Indianapolis Star. p. 154. 
4 Von Kleeck in New Post With Burger Man, Inc. (1969, March 21). The Muncie Evening Press. p. 26.
5 Iliff, D. (1967, January 15). Franchising Gains Popularity in ’66. The Muncie Star. p. 31.
6 (See footnote 1). 
7 Burger Man Closing Muncie Restaurants (1973, December 11). The Muncie Star. p. 17.
8 Bigger, R. (1974, February 13). Homestead credit available on state gross income tax. The Muncie Evening Press. p. 21.
9 Kings Island Sweep-Stakes (1975, May 10). The Muncie Evening Press. p. 11. 
10 Mac’s Now Hiring For All Positions (1997, April 4). The Muncie Star Press. p. 25. 
11 Walker, D. (2023, May 16). Mac’s Restaurant on Batavia closes after nearly 50 years; Mexican eatery planned. The Muncie Star Press. Web. Retrieved July 2, 2026.