By Matt Cooper
The Register-Guard
Appeared in print: Friday, Nov. 20, 2009, page B1

SPRINGFIELD — When your nickname is “The Bottomless Pit,” it’s only a matter of time before your capacity to consume will be put to the ultimate test.

For 24-year-old Tyler Rhodes of Springfield, that test came Thursday afternoon at a burger joint named, appropriately enough, Giant Burger.

Rhodes was the first of more than 60 contestants who have signed up for a promotional event in which they put their mouth where their money is: Eat a five-pound hamburger and five pounds of fries, within one hour, and it’s free. Fail, and you’re out $39.95.

Rhodes, a big bear of a man, was confident. “I believe I could eat the whole thing,” he said, an hour before his date with density. “My friends are pretty much saying that I’m crazy, that I won’t be able to do it. But I’ll probably get the money back.”

The event was the brainstorm of owner Brad Welt, who said he felt the restaurant needed to live up to its name. Customers were plowing through the menu’s one- and two-pound burgers without blinking, he said.

The restaurant’s burger challenge drew a sizeable afternoon crowd, including TV cameras and other news media. Rhodes is a regular at Giant Burger and as he settled in at a table in the center of the cozy wood-paneled restaurant, the lunchtime staff and 20 or so friends and other onlookers egged him on — at times encouragingly, but also with good-natured ribbing.

“If you don’t at least get done with that first patty, you’re losing the nickname ‘Bottomless Pit,’ ” Tyler’s buddy, Sterling Shafer, called out. “We’re demoting you to ‘Pothole.’”

“It’s easy to talk smack when you’re not staring at a heart attack,” shot back Jeremy McDonald, a restaurant food supplier, laughing.

Giant Burger customers describe the place as old-fashioned and old-school, even military-friendly, and Welt allowed that his contest might rub some people the wrong way. “This is all in good fun,” he said. “We’re not tryingto hurt anybody.”

Or get hurt, as the case may be. Contestants were required to sign waivers, in an effort to protect the restaurant from any legal action that could arise from the burger challenge.

Health experts, meanwhile, were wincing at news of the event, calling it another example of food wrongly used as all-you-can-eat entertainment in a county and a country with rising obesity.

In fact, there are extreme health risks from eating such a meal, said Nancy McCaffrey, a dietitian at Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend. The five-pound burger and five-pound fries combo carries a payload of more than 700 grams of fat alone — more than 10 times what the body needs in a single day, McCaffrey said.

“If you have a history of heart disease, a high-fat meal can constrict arteries — I’m not going to say you’re going to get a heart attack, but you could get chest pain,” McCaffrey said. “There’s a possibility of high blood pressure, diarrhea, you could be throwing up. It’s not a good idea to be eating this way.”

It’s unclear whether the ramifications of a 13,000-calorie lunch weighed on Rhodes’ mind as he dug into a burger behemoth as big as his own shaven head. To his left waited a small mountain of fries that could have sated a classroom of third-graders.

Rhodes, easy-going and well-tattooed — HATE inked on one hand and LOVE on the other — ate with the slow determination of someone putting up a wall, brick by brick.

After 22 minutes, and with neither of two, 2.5-pound hamburger patties showing much of a dent, he declared himself “almost full.” At 39 minutes, he sighed heavily and adopted the thousand-yard stare of a battle-weary soldier. “Oooohh,” Rhodes said.

“He’s slowing down,” manager Marilyn Magill said, chuckling. “I’m trying to think of a way to describe him.” She thought for a moment. “Droopy,” she decided, and laughed again.

At 47 minutes, with Rhodes’ resolve clearly flagging, the chants started up: “Go Tyler go! Go Tyler go!”

“Shovel it!” one offered. “Put your face in it!” another added. “Hell, no,” Rhodes responded.

It wasn’t to be. A minute later, Rhodes waved the white flag. “I’m done,” he said. “That’s it. I’m done. Ooooh.”

The final tally: Rhodes had eaten perhaps 1 1/2 pounds of hamburger and 1 1/2 pounds of French fries in about 50 minutes. His unsuccessful conquest would earn him a spot on the restaurant’s “Wall of Shame” — and, no doubt, a sigh of relief from dietitians and doctors everywhere.

Joining Rhodes on the Wall of Shame will be 48-year-old Brian Stenholm of Springfield, a second contestant who fared a little better Thursday evening, getting about halfway through his burger and fries. But Stenholm also left the restaurant a humbled man. His plans for the rest of the night?

“Not eating,” he said. “I’m going home and lying on the couch and digesting.”

As for Rhodes, when he called it quits, rose to his feet and patted his now-prominent belly, the restaurant erupted in applause and Magill stepped forward, enveloping him in a huge hug. “Give him a hand,” somebody yelled out.

“I don’t need a hand,” Rhodes responded. “I need a cigarette.”

Giant Burger Image Gallery

Click an image to enlarge.

CAN YOU HANDLE THE 5 LB CHALLENGE?
If you’re up to the task within 1 hour time limit,
We pay the tab.
Go ahead.
MAKE OUR DAY!

Payment of $39.95 is due at the time of reservation 48 hours in advance.

5 LB PARTY PLAN
39.95 Plus 1.00 a plate

Includes free kiddie ice cream cone for kids.
Also good for birthday’s, meetings, family and friend gatherings.

Giant Burger 5 lb Challenge Waiver

Rules

1. You, the undersigned, have 1 hour to eat, chew and swallow, by yourself all the hamburger, condiments, and
fries that are presented in front of you at the table.

2. You cannot leave the table during the challenge.

3. You must hold down the contents of the meal for 10 minutes after the hour time limit.

4. The 5 lb challenge is available in house only. NO TO GO ORDERS.

Agreement

The Giant Burger 5 lb meal is free if you satisfy all the challenge requirements/rules listed above. If you do
not complete the meal or meet all the requirements, you must pay the full price of $39.95.

The undersigned, does hereby agree to indemnify, defend and save harmless Giant Burger and Lucky Five, Inc. an Oregon Corporation, their direct and indirect beneficial owners, affiliates, subsidiaries, officers, directors, agents, and employees, “Indemnified Parties” from and against any suits, actions, causes of action, legal or administrative proceedings, demands, claims, liabilities, fines, penalties, losses, injuries, damage, expenses or cost (including interest and attorney’s fees, disbursements and court costs), of any kind and of whatsoever nature, whether now existing or hereafter arising, whether in contract, in tort or otherwise, without regard to the cause or causes thereof or any negligence or gross negligence of any of such Indemnified Parties, arising from, growing out of, or in any way related to Giant Burger 5 lb Challenge.

This agreement shall be for the benefit of and be binding upon the respective heirs, successors and permitted
assigns of Giant Burger, Lucky Five, Inc, and the undersigned.

Date:
________________________________________________

Staff Witness Signature:
________________________________________________

Challenger Signature:
________________________________________________

Challenger Printed Name:
________________________________________________

• Patty Meltdown

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