PLAINFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. — I'm Robb Westaby, and as your Northview reporter, I found myself in the perfect spot to cover this story – at a Friday night football game at Northview High School. I picked Northview because my daughter graduated from here and was a member of the marching band. But honestly, whenever I went to the football games, I couldn't wait to have the Wildcat Burger.
What makes these burgers so legendary? The ingredients aren't complicated, but the execution is everything.
WATCH: What makes the Wildcat burger so good?
"Double the meat, double the cheese. Why not, right?" said one volunteer grilling burgers at the concession stand.
Larry Galmish, a volunteer who helps run the concession operation, explained the simple formula behind the Wildcat Burger's success.
"Put a little bit of lettuce and thousand island dressing and a couple third-pound burgers and two slabs of cheese. So nice, big, thick piece. And we also have extreme burgers -- that's three patties," Galmish said.
When I asked about the weight of three patties, Galmish estimated it at just over a pound – a third of a pound for each burger patty.
"My cardiologist will not let me do that," I told him.
"Well, we got that. We got the kielbasa, too ... that may challenge your cardiologist," Galmish replied with a laugh.
The numbers speak for themselves. A couple weeks ago, they sold 1,200 to 1,300 in a single game.
"People will come before another game at another school, and they have eaten here, and then they've gone to their own game," Galmish said.
Maybe it's the price that keeps people coming back – still just $5, the same price it was 10 years ago.
But according to Galmish, the real secret isn't in the ingredients or the price.
"The magic is in the volunteers," Galmish said.
When I asked Galmish how many wildcats are actually in a Wildcat Burger, he gave me the perfect answer: "Well, it depends. Sometimes you hear them growl, and if you hear them growl, then there are two. Yeah, if it's a real little purr, it's only one."
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
