Christina O'Connor | The Roanoke Times

A Mike's cheeseburger, famously served upside down.

Mike Varelos opened Mike’s Grill at 418 N. Main St. in 1976.

And he still gets letters from Tech grads more than 20 years later, commending the iconic Blacksburg burger joint for staying true to its original recipe.

“Spice is the key to the flavor,” said Mike’s son and current manager Nick Varelos.

Mike’s original blend of spices paired with fresh beef ground daily, gives the sit-down and carry-out restaurant an edge over competitors that use precut patties, he said.

“Then comes the vegetables,” Nick Varelos said. “Some people think you should use really cold vegetables, but I use them at room temperature. You don’t want the temperature of the vegetables to take away from the taste of the burger.”

To top it off, Mike’s burgers are put on grill-toasted buns. Nick said the product is a unique taste unchanged for 30 years.

“Whether Mike makes it, my brother-in-law makes it or I make it, it [the burger] is guaranteed to taste the same,” Nick Varelos said.

Aside from the taste, it never hurts to have a wait staff of female college students. Older Tech graduates have compared Mike’s Grill back-in-the-day, with a modern-day Hooters.

“It’s not intended to be that way,” Nick Varelos said. “It just happens that 99 percent of the people who apply to be our servers are girls. Then we look at scheduling.

“After that, it’s the luck of the draw.”