By By Lydia Grimes
features reporter
Bill Kenney became a legend in Roanoke, Va., for “Kenney burgers.”
Now the retired restaurateur is becoming a legend among Habitat for Humaity volunteers.
Kenney — the father of Brewton resident Kathy Mathieu — will be at the Brewton Habitat ReStore from 2 to 5 p.m. today to sell his special sauce, with proceeds going to Habitat for Humanity.
Kenney invented the Kenney burger and opened his own chain of burger franchises back before the clown with the fluffy red head appeared on the scene.
Kenney will be demonstrating recipes at the ReStore, located in the shopping center across from Burger King.
Kenney invented his own sauce for hamburgers back in 1958, but he didn’t put the sauce on top of the hamburgers. He dipped them in the sauce. It wasn’t long before Kenney’s and McDonald’s were in direct competition with each other. Burgers went for 15 cents back in those days.
Kenney’s closed in the early 1980s, and the sauce sort of went into retirement, but in 1998, it made a comeback when Kenney teamed up with Hollis University to raise money for a local Habitat for Humanity house.
Kenney had been working with the Habitat for Humanity on the board of directors since 1989.
Kenney said he realized at the time that the sauce would be a perfect way to help raise money for the organization.
He said he knew that this idea could be used to raise money for other Habitat houses. Since that time he has, with the help of someone to stir the sauce, turned out the hamburger sauce and put it into jars and sold to raise money for Habitat.