06/05/2026
My dad, Al Buresh, never got the chance to visit my shop after it opened. By then, cancer had taken over his body, and the drive from Brookfield just wasn’t possible anymore. Instead, I would sit with him at the kitchen table and tell him all about it.
He passed away June 5th, 2015.
We bonded over two things: food and comedy.
He was a funny guy who loved making people laugh. He told plenty of dirty jokes, and as a kid I’d hear “ear muffs!” more times than I can count. The funny thing is, I usually heard the jokes anyway.
He was also one of the kindest people I’ve ever known. He would take me along to the airport to pick up restaurant customers. Looking back, who does that? A genuinely good guy, that’s who.
Almost every Sunday, we’d try a new small restaurant and usually meet up with his buddies, who all seemed to have nicknames like Smokey and Newtch. Those are some of my favorite memories.
He’d also load up boxes of White Castle burgers and bring them to local fire stations. We’d sit with the firefighters, look through photos from recent fires, and just talk. He knew everybody, and everybody knew him. Standing nearly seven feet tall, he was hard to miss in a crowd.
As I’ve been closing this chapter of my business, I’ve thought about him a lot. Deciding to close and move on wasn’t easy, but it reminded me of something important: life is short.
Spend time with your family. Make memories. Follow your heart. The work will always be there, but the people you love won’t be forever.
