Prior to the opening of 11:11 in January of 2015, the father of 11:11—Tom Faris found out something was missing in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Tom was always a sucker for a good burger, but every time he wanted one, he couldn’t find what he was truly looking for. Sure there were plenty of places around town that satisfied his hunger, but he never found one that made him say, “Wow!”

Tom believed in the “Wow Factor”. He talked about it all of the time. He loved things that made him say, “Wow!” This is where his vision began. After watching endless episodes of ”Diners, Drive-In’s & Dives” on food network with his son, Ryonen, they noticed a trend in the food industry. The most popular restaurants were serving large quantities of in-house, home-cooked food. After months of consulting, Tom and his son Ryonen (also known as Ry), decided this is exactly what Fond du Lac needed. And so the planning for 11:11 began.

11:11 Burgers & Beignets opened on January 9th of 2015 and the business took off. What started off as a small menu only containing 7-8 items, turned into a craze amongst local Fond du Lac’ers begging for more. Soon, famous burgers like the “Breakfast Buffet Burger”, “PB&J Burger” and “Baconeater” were added to a full menu containing in upwards of 30 burgers, sandwiches, sides and variations. As sales increased, Tom and Ryonen decided a second location may be an option.

Fast forwarding to 2018, a second location (718 W. Johnson Street), was in the process. “The old Pizza Hut Building” had been vacant for quite some time and Tom and Ryonen saw this as the perfect opportunity for a second location. After 10 months of renovation to a very old and run-down building, 11:11 “Johnson Street” was ready to open it’s doors.

Switching gears momentarily, a popular question amongst 11:11 customers is, “Where does the 11:11 come from?” The short answer would be what many people know as “11:11 Make a Wish”, but there’s much more to it. Could it be the hours of operation? Well, yeah that has something to do with it too. But, 11:11 has held it’s place in Tom’s heart for quite some time—including the "Make a Wish" part, but there are many spiritual values 11:11 holds and without getting into much detail, the moral of the story is 11:11 had held a significant spot within Tom’s inner being years before it had ever been a restaurant. 

Here’s the kicker.

In 2010, after 2 massive heart attacks, Tom had been placed on a heart transplant list. After a few months of being on the list, Tom received a call at 4:00 in the afternoon on July 14th that a new heart was available. After hours of preparation and consultation, Tom’s surgery began. Tom was opened up for surgery at 11:11 pm. Not on purpose, but by what our 11:11 family considers as fate. It was only fitting that a seven hour operation, would begin at 11:11 and ultimately be Tom’s ticket to a new beginning. 
 
To Tom 11:11 was everything. Whether it was the spiritual weight held on Tom's inner being, his deep passion for cards and poker and his favorite card being the Ace of Spades (four aces... aces represent the number 1 in a deck of cards... four Aces... 1111... you get it?), or his heart transplant surgery time, to Tom, 11:11 planted it's seed within and was seen everywhere in his life. It wouldn't go away, which was a good thing in his eyes. 
 
Fast forwarding back to where the story had left off, during the 10 months of renovation, there were many hiccups along the way. From plumbing issues to other loose odds and ends, it seemed like there was always something delaying the doors from opening at the new store. But, none of which could compare to an unexpected hiccup just weeks prior to opening the doors to the second location. Tom became ill and his health had caught up to him. For the few weeks heading up to the opening date for the new location, Tom had been in the hospital battling for his life yet again. During the renovation process, Tom was present every step of the way. Heavily involved in the design process, menu additions and overall business structure of the new establishment. With just 3 weeks left before Tom had become ill, he wasn’t able to be around for the opening of the business on June 17th 2019. After weeks of battle, Tom passed away July 1st of 2019. Tom never was able to see the final product of his greatest vision.

11:11’s hearts remain heavy in the grieving loss of the founding father of 11:11 Burgers. His legacy will remain—and will never be forgotten. 11:11 is currently owned and operated by Tom's son, Ryonen and his college buddy Travis and will continue to operate in Tom's memory. 

To all of our customers, we thank you for making 11:11 the business it has become today. Without all of you, Tom’s vision would not have become a reality.