By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

Pennies, pennies and more pennies pasted one at a time by hand on the floor of the new Tiger Burgers.

Tiger Burgers, the brainchild of Jacob and David Proffitt, will occupy the space at 700 Main St., which was recently vacated by Sake 2 Me. It has moved to the 2300 block of Vine St.

Jacob is the owner of the Auman Company, and the brothers are co-owners of Munsch Fitness and have other interests in local restaurant franchises.

This is their first concept restaurant venture.

Tiger Burgers will focus on sliders, burgers, chicken fingers, shakes and beer in a fifties-style atmosphere.

The brothers are working to restore the 1923 Sinclair gas station, which is on the state register of historic places, to near as possible to its original look.

Jacob’s wife found a penny table on Pinterest, and Jacob thought it would be a great project for the restaurant’s floor.

Hundreds of thousands of pennies have gone into floor thus far. The brothers’ bank had to bring in a special shipment of pennies for the project.

A crew of three to four workers have spent two weeks working 12 hours per day on their hands and knees to finish the project, which is nearing completion.

In the middle of the floor is the word “Tigers,” spelled out in quarters and dimes.

All of the pennies on the floor are heads up, except for two wheat pennies that are laid side by side. These pennies have the dates of the brothers’ parents’ birthdays.

Once the restaurant opens, the business will have a contest to see who can find the pennies. A progressive $100 prize will be offered to the person who can find the special pennies.

The oldest penny on the floor dates to 1893, but the floor also contains, Indian heads, wheat pennies and steel pennies from the 1940s.

The restaurant interior will include a wrap with Hays photos and memorabilia.

“We want this to be a tribute to the people of Hays. We want this to be a place where people can come together and talk. We wanted to do something for Hays,” Jacob said.

Anyone with old photos of Hays or the surrounding area can email photos to David at [email protected].

The restaurant will have an outdoor beer garden and seating area, which will have a stage and projectors on which old movies will be shown.

Jacob said he has been interested in the building for 15 years, and when the Sake 2 Me decided to relocated, he approached the building’s owner about a lease.

The business is set to open June 25 right before the Wild West Festival with a grand opening to be scheduled at a later date.

Hours will be 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays through Wednesdays and 10:30 a.m. to 3 a.m. Thursdays through Saturdays.