Austin is a Town That Knows What It’s Known For

At Kenny’s Oak Grill, we were halfway through scarfing our SPAM omelet when our server (wearing a SPAM-emblazoned t-shirt), insisted we come outside to see the vintage “SPAM TOWN USA” banner hanging on the front of the building. There was construction, so we’d come in the back way, and she really didn’t want us to miss it.

At Tendermaid, where the line for loose meat hamburgers stretched out the door, you can get a SPAM-dog, but if you’d rather stick with a traditional dog, the menu goes out of its way to announce that dog’s provenance: the word “HORMEL” is larger than the words “hot dog.”

Then, of course, there’s the SPAM Museum: a 14,000-square-foot shrine to the world’s most beloved canned meat, where we downed maple and tocino-flavored “SPAMples,” brought to us impaled on pretzel sticks (!!!) by enthusiastic “SPAMbassadors”.

By the end of the tour, we were so SPAM-struck we walked out of the gift shop with matching SPAM logo t-shirts. How could we not?

But Austin, Minnesota, is more than SPAM: they have barbacoa that rivals San Diego’s, an expansively restored prairie where you can see the monarch butterfly migration, and a warm, genuinely welcoming small-town vibe (everyone we ran into asked us where we were visiting from, then promptly invited us to multiple town events three to 30 days in the future). And at just two hours south of the Twin Cities, it’s the perfect one-day getaway.

After a two-hour drive from Minneapolis, we were more than ready for breakfast at Kenny’s Oak Grill. We arrived just after 10 a.m. and were greeted by the smell of buttery hash browns, tables full of regulars, and an extremely friendly server sporting an on-theme SPAM t-shirt. We ordered the SPAM and cheese omelet, which came to our table still sizzling, four perfect rectangles of toast riding alongside it. Kenny’s makes classic three-egg, diner-style omelets, and ours was properly fluffy, with a generous portion of crispy SPAM wrapped inside. While we were laser-focused on our mission (eat as much SPAM as possible in one day), other diners had French toast and loaded hash browns that we were tempted to steal off their tables.

We also highly recommend a thorough read of their website’s history page, where every longtime employee is listed by name (“server extraordinariness” Joan Kunze has been with Kenny’s since 1974, thank you very much).

Next time, we’re getting waffles with our omelet.

Kenny’s Oak Grill
Address: 307 W Oakland Ave, Austin, MN 55912
Hours: Weds-Mon, 7 a.m. - 9 p.m.

____

How many SPAM cans tall are you? What do pumpkin spice SPAM and figgy pudding SPAM have in common? Which country consumes the most SPAM? You can get the answer to all these questions (and more) while you snack on SPAM-ples at the SPAM Museum, a 14,000-square-foot journey through the history, lore, and flavors behind the world’s favorite tinned meat.

On the day we visited, the SPAM Museum was packed with SPAM lovers of all ages, who took their time ogling the massive conveyor belt of SPAM cans that snakes through the building. The museum’s interactive exhibits include a tour through the SPAM-loving world (Japan! England!) and a hands-on test of how you’d do on the Hormel production line (we did poorly).

The cost? Zero dollars; the SPAM Museum has free admission. Although we did all pick up some swag on our way out the door, for who could resist a SPAM-emblazoned onesie or a commemorative SPAM koozie? Not us!

SPAM Museum
Address: 101 3rd Ave NE, Austin, MN 55912
Hours: Mon-Sat, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Admission: FREE!
Good to know: You will be fueled throughout your visit by trays of SPAM-ples, and there is a play area for kids who aren’t enthralled by the history of canned pork.

____

When we arrived at Tendermaid, there was a line out the door. On a Wednesday. At the tail-end of peak lunch hours. Let this be a testament to the power of a loose meat sandwich, an Iowan specialty that’s drifted 12 miles north of the border to Austin. Basically a sloppy joe sans sloppy sauce, Tendermaid’s version offers an optional slice of American cheese (we opted in).

Tendermaid has a little bit of theatrical flair: the goods are doled out from a massive, steaming vat of ground beef set inside a food prep island, which is surrounded on three sides by vintage Formica countertops and red vinyl-topped stools, where hungry diners anxiously watched their sandwiches being assembled.

Note the small board below the menu: It extols the accomplishment of one Molly Schuyler, who holds the record for “The Tendermaid Challenge.” If you think you can put down 30 loose meats in less than 26 minutes, get ye to Austin!

We also added a SPAM dog to our lunch, ordering it with relish, onions, ketchup, and mustard. “A nice snack!” said one member of our party. “Like a regular hot dog, but, you know, Spammy.”

Pairs well with Dr. Pepper.

Tendermaid
Address: 217 4th Ave NE, Austin, MN 55912
Hours: Daily, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Good to know: Limited seating inside and the line can stretch out the door – there are picnic tables outside the building for nice weather days, otherwise plan on taking your loose meat to-go.

____

There are many locations named for the Hormel family in Austin, but only one where they actually lived. Put any musty, spooky visions of “historic homes” out of your mind; this place is straight-up design bait for fans of original architectural details, GOW (good old wood), and, maybe most importantly, wallpaper.

Because oh my god, the wallpaper.

While the home is named for its most famous residents, it was actually built in 1871 by John Cook, Austin’s third mayor. George and Lillian purchased it in 1901 for (brace yourself) $3,000, which is (brace yourself again) about $118,000 in 2026 dollars, and began an extensive renovation, importing many of the building materials from Europe, including George’s native Germany.

From the quarter-sawn oak walls in the dining room to the perfect flamingo-colored bathroom tile, the Hormel Home is scattered with QR codes that teach you historical context as you gather modern inspiration.

Hormel Historic Home
Address: 208 4th Ave. NW, Austin, MN 55912
Hours: Most days Tues-Fri, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., check their calendar for up-to-date info.
Admission: $5 for adults, free for children with paid adult admission.
Good to know: the columns and yard are both currently under renovation, the columns for structural reasons and the yard for fun ones – they’re building a stage for live music.

____

By the late afternoon, we were ready to walk off some SPAM. The Jay C. Hormel Nature Center was a quick six-minute drive from the Hormel Historic Home, and we arrived to the adorable sight of tie-dye-t-shirt-clad day campers planting a panoply of native species under the enthusiastic direction of two counselors. Native species, in fact, became a theme of our visit as we enjoyed stunning views of the center’s restored prairies, which were dotted with gently swaying wild white indigo, stunningly blue tradescantia, and sunny-yellow heliopsis.

Jay C. Hormel (George’s son, if you’re tracking the Hormel lineage) planted over 200,000 trees on the first acres of what is now the 520-acre nature center. We loved the view from the 3-story observation deck, which was a very doable mile walk from the parking lot.

In the fall, if you time it right, you can see a spectacular swarm of monarch butterflies getting one last feed in before they migrate south for the winter.

Jay C. Hormel Nature Center
Address: 1304 21st St. NE, Austin, MN 55912
Hours: Trails open daily from 6 a.m. - 10 p.m., Interpretive Center open Mon-Sat 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. and Sundays 1 p.m - 5 p.m.
Admission: Free
Good to know: The nature center has a free power track chair, so everyone can enjoy the trails, and while pets and bikes are not allowed, the nature center is adjacent to the 29-mile paved Shooting Star Bike Trail, where they are.

____

Austin experienced a large influx of Mexican immigration in the mid-1980s. Now, according to the 2020 census, about 18% of Austin’s population identifies as Hispanic or Latino, and everyone in town seemed to have an opinion about which of the many Mexican restaurants was the absolute best. We grabbed an (amazing) early dinner at Tienda Y Taqueria Guerrero, but locals had equal love for El Mariachi and Los Landeros.

We ordered barbacoa and chicken enchiladas with a slice of passion-fruit filled tres leches for dessert, and when we tell you that this food rivaled Las Cuatros Milpas in San Diego, CA...know how serious that is for us. This was excellent barbacoa: lusciously tender, with a beefy depth of flavor that was well cut by the two (red and green) salsas they brought tableside. And for $13.99? Including rice, beans, pico, avocado, a griddled pepper, and tortillas? An absolute steal.

Tienda Y Taqueria Guerrero also has an attached grocery store with hard-to-find ingredients like mayocoba beans and an on-site panaderia, where several of us grabbed concha and ojo de buey to take home to our (lucky) partners and kids.

Tienda Y Taqueria Guerrero
Address: 301 4th Ave NE, Austin, MN 55912
Hours: Sun-Thurs, 9 a.m. - 8 p.m., Fri-Sat 9 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Good to know: The restaurant is in back of the store and panaderia, a straight shot from the parking lot entrance.

____

We had one final side quest to complete before departing Austin. Our friends at the SPAM Museum told us that there is one Culver’s on earth that serves a SPAM burger, and (naturally) it’s the Culver’s in Austin, Minnesota. You won’t find it on the written menu, though. As a secret menu item (IYKYK), you have to special request it. Still quite full from our Mexican food, we shared a single, perfect SPAM burger, which was griddled in butter and served on a signature Culver’s Kaiser roll.

Culver’s
Address: 1800 8th St NW, Austin, MN 55912
Hours: Daily, 10 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Good to know: Ask for the SPAM burger, it’s not “officially” on-menu.