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It's Awful Awful hard to say good-bye.

Rick Heaney, owner of the Little Nugget casino in downtown Reno, just announced he is closing the property, which means the Nugget Diner inside will be shutting, which means the Awful Awful burger the Nugget Diner showcases will be no more.

'We told our employees yesterday that we were going to close at the end of the month because of the economic impossibility to stay open, and that we would be able to give them a severance check if they would stay with us until the end,' Heaney wrote in an emotional email to @RGJTaste.

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'They all elected to stay.'

Heaney added that he was 'emotionally spent' and could not speak further on the decision right now.

In his announcement, Heaney wrote the 'worldwide COVID-19 pandemic . . . made it clear that the Little Nugget could not survive the winter months,' given the restrictions on casinos, the cancellation of special events and the drop in visitors.

The downtown Nugget will close on July 30.

Previous Coverage: Why the Awful Awful burger (and Old Reno) matter now more than ever

A brawny bad boy on a bed of fries

The half-pound Awful Awful, so named because it's 'awful big and awful good,' has been served in various incarnations in Northern Nevada for nearly 70 years, but the version at the downtown Nugget has long been considered the standard by many.

The burger patty takes its place on a lightly toasted bun, is dressed in house sauce and traditional trimmings, then cushioned in a basket atop a pound of fries.

@RGJTaste celebrated the Awful Awful as part of an Old Reno that must be preserved even as publicists and public officials promote a New Reno.

As I wrote in that column:

'I loved the motley crew of customers in the Little Nugget diner; the back door from a scruffy alley; the hustle of the cooks; the smoke of the grill; the jaw-stretching burger itself, a 3 a.m. booze-sponge layering red onion, lettuce, tomato, cheese, and a half-pound of charbroiled beef, its juices coursing down my hands and onto a drift of fries.'

The burger has been served in different versions

As my colleague Marcella Corona related in a 2017 article, the Awful Awful burger arrived in Northern Nevada in 1952 with casino pioneer Dick Graves, who had served it in a restaurant he owned in Idaho.

Graves and his business partners opened Nugget casinos in Reno, Sparks and Carson City, all of which would serve the house take on the Awful Awful burger over the years. When the Reno Nugget closes at the end of the month, only the Carson Nugget will still serve a version of the burger.

(Baldini's Casino, which also once offered a version, no longer does.)

Heaney purchased the Reno Nugget in 1989 from Jim Kelley, a business partner of Graves.

Atmosphere was also on the Diner menu

In 2004, brand new to the Reno Gazette Journal, I decided to review a beloved Reno mainstay, the Nugget Diner, a small, slightly shabby spot that, it would turn out years later, was too small for social distancing.

Shabby, I discovered, merely provided the occasion for atmosphere. As I wrote at the time:

The line moves quickly, surprising you, and you nervously scan the menu, unsure of what to order. You hope you can do it — place your order with staccato efficiency — like the folks ahead of you are doing.

Nugget Casino Resort Reno

You hope you don't embarrass yourself like you did at the famous fried chicken place in Louisville, where you fumbled your order for thighs and peach cobbler, earning the scorn and pity of strangers at 2 a.m.

You order — it goes smoothly! — and you take a seat at one of the counters, which faces the cooking line, a gang of four guys who somehow manage, simultaneously, to pour your iced tea and make change and flip patties on the grill and prep vegetables and speak Spanish and English and find you a knife.

You know you will never, ever be as skilled at anything as these men are at making lunch.

See what others are reading in Reno restaurant news:

The Awful Awful burger startles you. For $3.50, you're not expecting this behemoth . . .The burger gets better with every bite, and with two bites left, enough of its juices have seeped into the bun to make the final morsels soft and smoky without being soggy.

In 2010, the Awful Awful from the Reno Nugget and its cousin from the Sparks Nugget battled on the Travel Channel show 'Food Wars.' Reno won.

There are eight days until July 30, just enough time to drop by the Nugget Diner, order a burger, open your mouth Awful wide, get your fingers Awful juicy and create some Awful tasty memories for the long years ahead.

____________

Keep current on food and drink news through alerts, unlimited access to content and more with a Reno Gazette Journal digital subscription. Through July 23, 2020, new subscribers can subscribe to RGJ.com for the special price of $39 annually.

Subscribe to The Reno Taste free newsletter right here.

Johnathan L. Wright is the food and drink editor of RGJ Media, part of the USA Today Network. Join @RGJTaste on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Heaney added that he was 'emotionally spent' and could not speak further on the decision right now.

In his announcement, Heaney wrote the 'worldwide COVID-19 pandemic . . . made it clear that the Little Nugget could not survive the winter months,' given the restrictions on casinos, the cancellation of special events and the drop in visitors.

The downtown Nugget will close on July 30.

Previous Coverage: Why the Awful Awful burger (and Old Reno) matter now more than ever

A brawny bad boy on a bed of fries

The half-pound Awful Awful, so named because it's 'awful big and awful good,' has been served in various incarnations in Northern Nevada for nearly 70 years, but the version at the downtown Nugget has long been considered the standard by many.

The burger patty takes its place on a lightly toasted bun, is dressed in house sauce and traditional trimmings, then cushioned in a basket atop a pound of fries.

@RGJTaste celebrated the Awful Awful as part of an Old Reno that must be preserved even as publicists and public officials promote a New Reno.

As I wrote in that column:

'I loved the motley crew of customers in the Little Nugget diner; the back door from a scruffy alley; the hustle of the cooks; the smoke of the grill; the jaw-stretching burger itself, a 3 a.m. booze-sponge layering red onion, lettuce, tomato, cheese, and a half-pound of charbroiled beef, its juices coursing down my hands and onto a drift of fries.'

The burger has been served in different versions

As my colleague Marcella Corona related in a 2017 article, the Awful Awful burger arrived in Northern Nevada in 1952 with casino pioneer Dick Graves, who had served it in a restaurant he owned in Idaho.

Graves and his business partners opened Nugget casinos in Reno, Sparks and Carson City, all of which would serve the house take on the Awful Awful burger over the years. When the Reno Nugget closes at the end of the month, only the Carson Nugget will still serve a version of the burger.

(Baldini's Casino, which also once offered a version, no longer does.)

Heaney purchased the Reno Nugget in 1989 from Jim Kelley, a business partner of Graves.

Atmosphere was also on the Diner menu

In 2004, brand new to the Reno Gazette Journal, I decided to review a beloved Reno mainstay, the Nugget Diner, a small, slightly shabby spot that, it would turn out years later, was too small for social distancing.

Shabby, I discovered, merely provided the occasion for atmosphere. As I wrote at the time:

The line moves quickly, surprising you, and you nervously scan the menu, unsure of what to order. You hope you can do it — place your order with staccato efficiency — like the folks ahead of you are doing.

Nugget Casino Resort Reno

You hope you don't embarrass yourself like you did at the famous fried chicken place in Louisville, where you fumbled your order for thighs and peach cobbler, earning the scorn and pity of strangers at 2 a.m.

You order — it goes smoothly! — and you take a seat at one of the counters, which faces the cooking line, a gang of four guys who somehow manage, simultaneously, to pour your iced tea and make change and flip patties on the grill and prep vegetables and speak Spanish and English and find you a knife.

You know you will never, ever be as skilled at anything as these men are at making lunch.

See what others are reading in Reno restaurant news:

The Awful Awful burger startles you. For $3.50, you're not expecting this behemoth . . .The burger gets better with every bite, and with two bites left, enough of its juices have seeped into the bun to make the final morsels soft and smoky without being soggy.

In 2010, the Awful Awful from the Reno Nugget and its cousin from the Sparks Nugget battled on the Travel Channel show 'Food Wars.' Reno won.

There are eight days until July 30, just enough time to drop by the Nugget Diner, order a burger, open your mouth Awful wide, get your fingers Awful juicy and create some Awful tasty memories for the long years ahead.

____________

Keep current on food and drink news through alerts, unlimited access to content and more with a Reno Gazette Journal digital subscription. Through July 23, 2020, new subscribers can subscribe to RGJ.com for the special price of $39 annually.

Subscribe to The Reno Taste free newsletter right here.

Johnathan L. Wright is the food and drink editor of RGJ Media, part of the USA Today Network. Join @RGJTaste on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

This article originally appeared on Reno Gazette Journal: Awful Awful burger ends in downtown Reno as Nugget Diner closes because of COVID-19

Due to a State mandate there is a directive requiring Face Masks or Face Coverings for all Nevadans and visitors when out in public. We will be enforcing the State mandate requiring face masks and will be offering complimentary masks available at casino bars, restaurants and property entrances. Thank you for visiting the Nugget Casino Resort for your safety continue to practice social distancing of at least 6 feet, frequently wash your hands and wear face coverings when out in public.

To learn more about what to expect for your next stay at the Nugget, please view the PDF and review our COVID Reopening Guidelines.