Arni's Review

Date: 01/31/25

Restaurant Name: Arni's

Address: 251 W. Northfield Dr, Brownsburg, IN 46112

Phone Number: 317-520-9377

Email Address: info@meetyouatarnis.com

Josh and Harry at Arni's

About: Arnold "Arni" Cohen launched this restaurant in 1965 at Market Square Shopping Center in Lafayette. Within a decade, Arni's at Market Square became one of Indiana's largest and most thriving restaurants, leading to a variety of other locations popping up over Indiana, including one here in Brownsburg.

Authenticity: ⭐️⭐️⭐️★★

The melt was served on rye bread, which was great. The beef patty was excellent quality, but it was not cooked to order. The cheese was American, which is not a deal breaker, but is a shortcut. Unfortunately, the onions were not caramelized and were barely grilled, which spoiled the entire patty melt. In addition, there was Thousand Island on the patty melt, but it barely added to the flavor profile.

Taste: ⭐️⭐️★★★

The beef patty itself was high quality, but not cooked to order, which was fine for us but may be a deal breaker for others. As noted above, the onions were not caramelized. The result was that the bread and the beef tasted good, while the onions and thousand island detracted from the taste. Although Arni's started with good ingredients, they did not come together into the satisfying experience that we expected.

Value: ⭐️⭐️⭐️★★

The patty melt is priced at $14.50, which comes with a side of fries or coleslaw. A fair price for what it is, but not a bargain, considering the taste of the patty melt.

Ambiance: ⭐️⭐️⭐️★★

Arni's was a casual dining experience, with a relaxed atmosphere and friendly servers. There was some light music and TVs showing sports near the bar, and all in all the experience was what one expects. However, compared to the Friendly Tavern or the LA Cafe that both had a distinctive character, this one felt generic.

Total Experience: ⭐️⭐️⭐️★★

Summary: We would not recommend Arni's patty melt. If you like your burgers cooked medium, you will probably enjoy an Arni's burger.

Leadership Lessons: The highlight for me of our lunch at Arnie’s was not the patty melt, it was the leadership lessons. There were lots of them, but I’m going to limit myself to just this one. It’s up to leadership to assure that someone is paying attention to the details and create the culture that values the details that really matter. One of the first things I noticed was that the salt and pepper shakers didn’t match. In and of itself, that’s not a big deal. But it wasn’t an anomaly -- it was the first dot on the page, that when connected with several others, formed the pattern of a workplace in which the details were neglected.

This may have been the root cause of my patty melt being disappointing, despite having a great beef patty. It was all because of inattention to the details that matter: not preparing the beef patty to a customer’s order (I prefer my patty cooked medium but I was not asked my preference), the onions were not caramelized which detracted from the overall taste, the cheese that was used on their burgers was used on my patty melt rather than swiss cheese that a patty melt calls for, and the 1000 Island dressing was barely present and not sufficient to complement the flavor.

Sadly, this is a metaphor for too many organizations. They have all the ingredients for a great experience, but lack the leadership to bring it all together in a harmonious manner.