Union opens The Lex Featuring Bob’s Burgers

When Bob’s Burgers in Bells, Tennessee, burned down in January 2023, Bob O’Donnell wasn’t sure what his future would hold. His building was underinsured, and he didn’t have the funds to reopen the beloved restaurant he had operated since 2009.

Enter Union University, which gave O’Donnell the opportunity to continue serving his famous hamburgers as part of The Lex, the café located immediately outside the university’s Brewer Dining Hall.

Now named “The Lex Featuring Bob’s Burgers,” the new operation opened this semester with O’Donnell preparing his hamburgers and fries for Union students and the general public.

“I enjoy cooking,” O’Donnell said. “This is what I do. I really missed this. Being out since January, I was just dying to do something.”

Jim Erickson, director of dining services with Creative Dining Services at Union, said Bob’s Burgers adds a new dimension to The Lex and enhances the student experience on campus, while at the same time attracting community members to Union.

“We want people to come and have a good experience on campus,” Erickson said. “Having Bob’s here is one way to achieve that goal.”

The operation so far has been a success for both O’Donnell and Union.

“Bob saw this as an opportunity to be on a campus that had a really good dynamic to it,” Erickson said. “He can do what he knew best, and he saw this as something that God had led him to.”

O’Donnell started in the restaurant business with Pizza Hut as a teenager in the metropolitan St. Louis, Missouri, region. Aside from six years in the military, he’s worked in the food industry all of his adult life. He trained at Johnson and Wales University, and though he isn’t a certified chef, he knows food preparation.

In addition to the offerings from Bob’s Burgers, The Lex features other menu items as well, such as salads, drinks and other snacks. Located in the Barefoot Student Union Building, The Lex Featuring Bob’s Burgers is open to the public from 10 a.m.- 9 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturdays.