However, what many do not know is Conrad’s College Town Grill owner Joe Conrad was a driving force behind the creation of Menna’s Joint — until the two parted ways in 2007.

Conrad expressed his reason for leaving was a “touchy subject” but said it came down to the fact he, his father and fellow Menna’s co-owner Hank Andries Sr. could not agree on where Menna’s was headed.

“They wanted to make Menna’s Joint more corporate while we wanted to keep that local feel,” Conrad said. “They wanted to make the dub smaller and we felt like the things they wanted to do would take away the quality of Menna’s and the things that made the dub so popular.”

The current owner of Menna’s Joint, Hank Andries Jr., didn’t have much to say about Conrad’s involvement with Menna’s, other than clarifying the reason for Conrad’s departure.

“We were founded in 2003, we’ve been in East Lansing for 10 years and Conrad’s is a relatively new place,” Andries Jr. said. “Joe Conrad opened his restaurant in 2007 after his employment was terminated and his father sold his interest, that’s about it.”

Andries Jr. declined to comment about the his relationship with Conrad, instead electing to discuss the expansion of Menna’s.

The departure was a difficult situation for Conrad, who claims the Menna’s name was a result of a prank phone call between he and several coworkers when he was in high school.

“I worked there for four years and, by the time I left, no one knew my real name,” Conrad said. “Everyone called me Menna, so that’s how I came up with the name for Menna’s Joint. It was different and catchy.”

Andries Sr. and Conrad’s father, Jim Conrad, along with the help of their sons, opened the first Menna’s Joint in East Lansing in 2003 — selling wraps that have proved to be popular on MSU’s campus.

Since then, the “Home of the Dub” has expanded and can be found at five locations in Michigan.

Following his departure, Joe Conrad initially introduced the Con Wrap to East Lansing a short walk away from Menna’s Joint at Conrad’s Corner. The name changed to Conrad’s College Town Grill, as did the location, in 2009 and continues to give Menna’s Joint a run for their money.

Finance senior Garrett Simonis said he has been to both restaurants but prefers Conrad’s.

“It’s a rivalry,” Simonis said. “Honestly I prefer Conrad’s, the build your own burger is a fantastic option — it’s actually amazing.”

Accounting senior Joe Lacasse said he has never been to Conrad’s but he enjoys the food at Menna’s.

“It’s really good — kind of greasy and heavy — but still good,” Lacasse said.

As the rivalry rages on in downtown East Lansing, it’s truly left to the consumers to decide which of the purveyors of late night cuisine is king.

And even as Joe Conrad has moved on from the restaurant that’s holds his childhood namesake, the goal remains to set his new business apart one customer at a time.

“I can legitimately relate to my customers and I like truly like a majority of my customers,” Joe Conrad said. “Getting to know my customers as an owner and listening to my employees helps me to give them a product that they like.”