Eagle Rock burger icon closes after 78 years

The Bucket at 4541 Eagle Rock Boulevard, purveyor of self-described "old fashion burgers," opened in 1935. "We are sorry ... but due to the loss of our lease we will be closed indefinitely," the stand's website says. The menu of hamburgers included Our Famous Cardiac, the Mild Cardiac, and the Malibu. Eagle Rock Patch went over to take a look and found the building had been cleaned out over the weekend.

Sure enough, the business was not only closed Tuesday, but its entire interior and patio had been cleared out—grills, refridgerators, counters, tables, chairs, cash register, everything. A nearby business owner who asked not to be named said The Bucket had been closed for about a week, and that the owner, George Eckley, was indeed busy clearing out the place over the weekend....

The nearby business owner and the email tipster also said they had been told Eckley was unable to come to a new lease agreement with the building's landlord. The business owner added that he had been told the landlord had different plans for the property and wanted to redevelop it.

According to the nearby business owner, Eckley had owned The Bucket for the last five or six years. Patch reached out to Eckley to comment on our story but did not get a response.

Photo: The Bucket website