Man who started Mug N Bun passes away

From today's Indianapolis Star
By Rob Schneider
rob.schneider@indystar.com
Morris May grew up poor and had to deal with a hearing problem that led him to drop out of school in the 11th grade.
But he had drive and determination too, Carolyn May said of her husband, who died Sept. 15.
For nearly 40 years, Mr. May, 72, was the owner of the Mug 'N Bun, a drive-in restaurant on West 10th Street. On busy summer nights, he would start his day there at 6 a.m. and not call it quits until after midnight and repeated it all the next day.
The drive-in restaurant has fed the need of generation after generation of customers for hand-cut onion rings, hamburgers made to order and homemade root beer. Mr. May's version of curbside service was simple. He expected his waitresses to approach cars by the time their wheels stopped turning.
Mr. May, who lived in Brownsburg in recent years, attended George Washington High School until the 11th grade, when a hearing problem convinced him he should quit school and get a job. After all, he had been working since he was a boy, his wife noted. He worked on an uncle's farm, as a caddy and at a bowling alley.
Mr. May's family was poor, and as a boy he learned to keep his feet flat on the ground so his classmates wouldn't see the cardboard plugging the holes in his shoes. He became determined that he would make something of himself.
He took a chance in 1960 and bought the Frostop Root Beer Drive-In and changed the name to Mug 'N Bun. He ruled the staff with an iron fist and worked harder than anyone else, teaching scores of teenagers the importance of working hard.
Sometimes, Carolyn May said, she would wonder how they could keep up with all the orders during a busy day, but her husband would remind her to keep working, and that closing time would eventually come. In the summertime, though, they didn't have set closing hours, but closed when customers stopped showing up.
In 1998, they were both tired and decided to sell the restaurant.

IMO one of the best BPT when he owned it, after he sold it - forget it.

That's a sad passing. Many of my classmates (Speedway HS '62) worked for Morris May when he started the Mug'n'Bun name and I do remember the old Frostop. If you want to see a video interview of Morris May and his passion for breaded pork tenderloin sandwiches he is featured in Jensen Rufe's 1999 documentary "In Search of the Famous Indiana Breaded Pork Tenderloin Sandwich". An excerpt short of about 1.5 minutes of the 16 minute documentary with May can be found at http://www.jensenrufe.com/documentaries/

This might explain the conflicting information I get about the Mug'n'Bun tenderloin if May sold it in 1998. Too many people have told me it is now a fritter yet the review here still shows an old shot of a true tenderloin.

Sad news. My family lovrf the place when we ate there.

Sorry to hear of his passing... Always nice to hear a story of someone who loved their job.. If he did sell it in '98, explains why all the people are cutting down their tenderloins lately.

I don't know if it is a pork fritter or not, but it is definitely not the sandwich I remember from when Morris ran the drive-in.

quote:

Originally posted by Davydd

That's a sad passing. Many of my classmates (Speedway HS '62) worked for Morris May when he started the Mug'n'Bun name and I do remember the old Frostop. If you want to see a video interview of Morris May and his passion for breaded pork tenderloin sandwiches he is featured in Jensen Rufe's 1999 documentary "In Search of the Famous Indiana Breaded Pork Tenderloin Sandwich".
...
This might explain the conflicting information I get about the Mug'n'Bun tenderloin if May sold it in 1998. Too many people have told me it is now a fritter yet the review here still shows an old shot of a true tenderloin.

What's in the review looks like a tenderloin to me.

Next question: Is there another good bar or restaurant in the Indy area that still sells a real tenderloin sandwich? My former favorite, Tin Star Jail near Broad Ripple, went out of business years ago, and I get to Indy so rarely (mostly to visit relatives) that I can't search for a place that still sells a real tenderloin sandwich. At least Shapiro's is still excellent (we ate there twice last July), but it's a kosher style deli, and they sell no pork tenderloin sandwiches, of course.
Next trip will probably be in the Summer of 2007...one can hope.

paoconnell,

This message thread here on Roadfood.com will give you many suggestions with pictures in and around Indianapolis. There are lots of good places that sell real tenderloins. What I question, given many sources saying the Mug'n'Bun is serving a pork fritter now is whether the review is uptodate and accurate.

http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=423

If you want to see them all in a slide show format you can go...

http://www.porktenderloinsandwich.com

quote:

Originally posted by paoconnell
Next question: Is there another good bar or restaurant in the Indy area that still sells a real tenderloin sandwich?

The Pawn Shop has reopened on 54th Street west of Keystone - in an old LJS location. My favorite Tenderloin now is at a place called Bonnie & Clyde's - east of Indy on I 70 and then north at the Mt Comfort Rd exit.

bstevens,

Make a believer out of us. Post a picture in the Pork Tenderloin thread http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=423

I get lots of recommendations and find that a lot of people have inflated opinions about pork tenderloin sandwiches (or at least different opinions from my own). The best example is there is a cadre of places in northeast Minneapolis that people swear by but they are all, IMO, so so greasy and served on toast and not my idea of a good pork tenderloin sandwich. I also find Iowans have a differing view of the sandwich opposed to Hoosiers. So a picture helps for starters. Desertdog has me craving to go to Arizona on account of pictures.

Wow. Respectfully Davy, a picture? Perhaps I've spent too many years in marketing - turning out campaigns for a couple of the bigger chains that will make your mouth water, but turn your stomach when you taste the actual product - to put any personal faith in a photo. So, from very personal experience, if opinion says that all it takes is a picture to make a believer around here, I'll spend my time elsewhere. Cheers.

quote:

Originally posted by Davydd

bstevens,

Make a believer out of us. Post a picture in the Pork Tenderloin thread http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=423

I get lots of recommendations and find that a lot of people have inflated opinions about pork tenderloin sandwiches (or at least different opinions from my own). The best example is there is a cadre of places in northeast Minneapolis that people swear by but they are all, IMO, so so greasy and served on toast and not my idea of a good pork tenderloin sandwich. I also find Iowans have a differing view of the sandwich opposed to Hoosiers. So a picture helps for starters. Desertdog has me craving to go to Arizona on account of pictures.

bstevens... Pictures here are not staged. Folks don't use shellac to shine up a burger, or any of them other photography tricks. Just plain old enjoyment of seeing a picture of what they purchased, and review from the person who ate it.. If your going elsewhere, Adios my friend!

I think I can judge from a picture the potential of whether it would be worth trying. So scratch Bonnie & Clyde's off the list of potentials. When someone trolls two old topic with the same recommendation you have to wonder the motive especially when lectured about marketing then decides to spend his time elsewhere. So respectfully go tell the owner's of Bonnie & Clydes they will never make porktenderloinsandwich.com if that is the objective. I suspect about May 15 I will be driving right past too.