Feltner’s Whatta-burger in Russellville closed its doors for the final time Friday, ending a 58-year run that turned the burger spot into a fixture for generations of Arkansans.
The closure was announced on Facebook, where owner Missy Ellis said she and Randy Ellis were heartbroken to close the restaurant. The decision marks the end of a business that opened in 1968, when Ellis’ father, Bob Feltner, started the restaurant across the street from Arkansas Tech University.
Over the years, the River Valley favorite became a regular stop for students, locals and travelers passing through on Interstate 40. Its burgers, fried pies and milkshakes helped build a reputation that carried far beyond Russellville, and in 2021 the restaurant was inducted into the Arkansas Food Hall of Fame.
That history is what makes the closing hit hard. Feltner’s Whatta-burger was not just another roadside stop; it was a place tied to family, campus life and the daily rhythm of the city. With the doors now shut, Russellville loses one of its best-known gathering places, and the question left behind is how a restaurant so woven into local memory will be remembered without the smell of burgers on the grill and students walking in from across the street.
