Murfโ€™s Frozen Custard & Jumbo Burgers in Waukesha closes

Owner has plans to sell

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Murfโ€™s Frozen Custard & Jumbo Burgers in Waukesha closed today, after nearly three decades.

Jerry Murphy, who has been involved in the custard business for 39 years, opened the Murfโ€™s Waukesha location in 1993.

Murphy got his start in custard as a high schooler working for Koppโ€™s Frozen Custard in the โ€™80s. While he was in college, Murphy helped open Freddyโ€™s Frozen Custard in Mequon. He  later opened his first Murfโ€™s operation in Waukesha and eventually purchased Freddyโ€™s, which he owned from 1994 to 1999.

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Murphy then sold Freddyโ€™s and opened Murfโ€™s Frozen Custard & Jumbo Burgers in Brookfield, which is still in operation today. He said the sale of his Waukesha location was โ€œcarefully orchestrated,โ€ adding that he wanted to simplify his operation and the timing was right.

โ€œIt was just time to sell, we had a good long run, great community support,โ€ Murphy said. โ€œAnd to be honest with you, right now is a great time to sell a drive-thru restaurant because COVID canโ€™t shut you down in a drive-thru.โ€

Murphy said he has a buyer for the Waukesha location who will likely stay in the custard business because of the locationโ€™s high volume of sales.

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โ€œI canโ€™t reveal it now because itโ€™s in the works, but itโ€™s being sold,โ€ Murphy said. โ€œIโ€™m sure the next people will follow the same type of business because it was really successful there.โ€

During the pandemic, Murfโ€™s in Waukesha had been drive-thru only, with the Brookfield location offering carryout as the only option for its customers. In fact, the Brookfield location has more business than last year, Murphy added.

โ€œSo, I feel very lucky about that,โ€ Murphy said. โ€œItโ€™s very disappointing that other folks in the restaurant business arenโ€™t doing well. Itโ€™s tough to watch.โ€

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Just as Murphy started off working for a custard business before eventually owning his own, former Murfโ€™s employees have followed in his footsteps, he said.

โ€œIf youโ€™re in the business, the great part is the people,โ€ Murphy said. โ€œIโ€™ve had some great people work for me and sharp enough to go into the business for themselves, which is always great to see.โ€

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