Kansas City burger joint goes from all cash to accepting cards with Elavon

HiBoy Drive-In owner says providing more payment options has helped him retain customers

When pulling up to the HiBoy Drive-In in Independence, Missouri, hungry patrons can order a burger made by long-time owner Larry Comer, cooked-to-order onion rings and a milkshake to stave off the summer heat. What Comer doesn't want his customers to be thinking twice about is how they pay.

"Before this, and we're talking a ways back, we weren't taking credit cards," said Comer, who owns two HiBoy locations in the Kansas City area. "Because we were all cash for a long time, we were seeing some people come in and not be able to pay. About 20 people a day left and went to the fast-food chain across the street."

Comer, who purchased the Independence location in 1991 after working full-time at the restaurant since 1984, said he initially didn't think people would swipe their credit cards for small-dollar purchases. Now, it's become the norm for Comer and business owners across the country.

"About 78% of our business is now done through customers using credit cards," Comer said. "If I hadn't made that transition from all cash, I wouldn't have any customers today."

Comer, who has been a U.S. Bank customer since 1997, talked with his bankers about possible solutions and learned more about offering his customers more choice in payments. As a result, he added Elavon, a subsidiary of U.S. Bank, to his list of partners. A merchant and payment processing service, Elavon is one of the leading global providers of the service that is aimed at making it easier for businesses to accept payments from their customers.

That ease is something that helps get HiBoy burgers into the stomachs of restaurant-goers. HiBoy is a community staple in the Kansas City area, with customers traveling from near and far, Comer said. It's a popular spot during the summer for post-game Little League celebrations.

It's also family run. Customers will often see Comer manning the grill while his son manages his second HiBoy location with his wife and mother-in-law.

Throughout the decades, it's also been a popular spot for young people to work.

"I have people who worked for me years ago whose grandkids now work for me," Comer said. "Not to mention Kelli, our Elavon representative, worked for me starting back in '84."

Kelli Harless, who now works at Elavon as a sales manager in the Kansas City area, worked for Comer before joining U.S. Bank. Her banking career took her from part-time teller to branch manager before coming full circle to support HiBoy and other local businesses in her Elavon role.

"It's been 40 years since I worked for Larry at HiBoy, and so much has changed about how customers buy their burgers," Harless said. "It's a joy to see him meet these changes by figuring out what solutions work best for him and his business."

In fact, Harless recently helped Comer navigate his latest payment challenge: paying via smartwatch or smartphone.

"We've lost customers because we weren't able to accommodate that," Comer said. "We now have smart terminals so that they can tap to pay, which were added just in the last year."

For Harless, solving challenges for Comer - who has also used Everyday Funding at U.S. Bank as a no-cost funding solution for his business - is a priority. Comer said he appreciates the peace of mind of knowing that yesterday's customer transactions will be in his accounts the next morning. It lets him focus on his customers.

"We want to find impactful solutions that make doing business easier so Larry and other business owners can get back to what they love doing," Harless said. "We can better navigate changes and challenges when we work together."