Haley Wright, 23, of Arizona, assembles an olive burger while working at Kewpee Sandwich Shoppe in Lansing, Michigan, on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026.
From Jan. 23-31, Lansing’s annual Olive Burger Week will take place in various participating local restaurants.
Dubbed as the Olive Burger Capital of the World, Lansing restaurants will celebrate by providing customers with their own unique takes on the classic olive burger.
Co-hosted by Lansing Foodies and Lansing 5:01, Olive Burger Week will feature a variety of local restaurants.
Event coordinator for Lansing Foodies Erin Brains said hosting this celebration is important for local businesses.
“We want to also, really importantly, uplift local restaurants during what is really the slowest time of year for them, and, you know, a lot of local restaurants can really struggle during the January, February time,” Brains said. “So we wanted to just give an opportunity for as many restaurants as possible to participate in something.”
However, Brains said Olive Burger Week isn’t strictly limited to olive burgers. Instead, restaurants are offering “olive burger-esque” creations.
“But also, we're not saying it has to be a burger, like we're saying, ‘What's your olive burger-inspired dish?’” Brains said. “So we've got pizza places that are making olive burger pizzas, we've got a charcuterie board, which I'm very excited to try. Basically, it's just, you know, a celebration of this unique thing. And then we're also giving an opportunity for restaurants to highlight other burgers that might be (a) better fit suited for people that don't like olives, because we know they exist.”
CEO of Lansing 5:01 Samantha Harkins said given that olive burgers are “a very Lansing thing,” they decided to feature the burgers to not only celebrate the city, but also to help local businesses.
The olive burger that Lansing locals are familiar with originated in Weston’s Kewpee Sandwich Shop.
During the 1920s, Gladys and William Weston first opened the shop in Lansing. The olive burger was Gladys Weston’s creation, consisting of an olive sauce that has remained unchanged since it was first introduced.
Current owner and operator of Weston’s Kewpee Sandwich Shop Autumn Weston said being a part of Lansing’s history is “an honor."
“It's an honor, and given that my great grandmother, Gladys, is the originator of (the) olive sauce, it's just like that, that tremendous amount of respect for her to be part of that, you know, four generations later, it's an honor, and it's a delicious honor,” Autumn Weston said. “...You know, if they're not broken, you don't fix them. And we haven't changed the way that she's made the sauce in 103 years.”
Autumn Weston said their version of the olive burger consists of a “mayonnaise-based sauce with green olives."
“(There’s) a lot of goodness, and it's savory, it's salty, and when you top it on a burger, it just makes total sense, you know?” Autumn Weston said.
The olive burger, Autumn Weston said, is not only considered just a meal, but also has “so much nostalgia that it makes it taste that much better."
“…I think that with the olive burger here, it comes with so much nostalgia that it makes it taste that much better. Do you know what I mean?” Autumn Weston said. “Like, it's a place where you came with your grandparents or with your mom or your dad, or, you know, your first date. So there's so much more into it than just the ingredients of the sauce. It's an entire experience.”
Life-long customer Joyce Lightfoot-Williams said she has been coming to Weston’s Kewpee Sandwich Shop since she was a child.
Over the years, Lightfoot-Williams said everything about the shop keeps bringing her back.
“The food and the workers and owner, I always call him Pops, I have always called him Pops, and he answers, and he talks to us,” Lightfoot-Williams said. “And Tammy. I've known Tammy for forever, and she's up on the cash register. So they're just all polite. They're all great, I mean, they're just great. That's all I can say.”
To live in a city dubbed the Olive Burger Capital, Lightfoot-Williams said, is “awesome."
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“It makes me feel good,” Lightfoot-Williams said. “But Pops is a great guy. He's a very great guy.”
By the end of Olive Burger Week, Autumn Weston said she hopes to reach new customers.
“(I hope to get) new bellies, you know what I mean?” Autumn Weston said. “I love that, and I love that Kewpee’s is a staple for olive burgers, and they compare it to Kewpee’s, you know, which, like I said, there's so many versions and people like others, and that's okay, because there's more than just one olive burger, you know? But just for people to try, try an olive burger anywhere, and, you know, and try it, (and) to try ours as well.”
