Not every restaurant makes it 10 years, let alone 25 years, especially on an island where restaurant turnover has become the name of the game. Stubbys, the little fry shop by the Steamship, has become one of those restaurants. Now in its 25th season, Stubbys is an institution on Broad Street, a stomping ground for islanders and visitors alike—a place for people from all walks of life to enjoy a simple hamburger or chicken fingers and fries.

The idea was we wanted to be a step above McDonalds,” said Jim Weiman, a co-founder and one of three partners of Stubbys. “We wanted to be fast food, but decent fast food, fast food you wouldn’t hesitate to eat. We wanted Stubbys to be a place people can go a few times a day. It didn’t have to be a big pilgrimage. You can come for a coffee in the morning, and later for dinner.”

In its 25 years, Stubbys’ menu has grown with the times, but by and large it hasn’t changed. The original idea was to create a go-to spot for French fries. “Stubbys is slang for French fries,” Weiman said. “A friend of mine has worked most of his adult life in Europe. I was talking to him when we were just getting going. We went with Steamship Stubbys, though the name was shortened before we even got going.”

Stubbys has since evolved into much more than a casual fast food option for fries, providing breakfast, lunch and dinner, a variety of sandwiches, fried food and vegetarian options, as well as a full Jamaican menu at its Broad Street location. “In order to remain in business we had to swerve more than French fries,” Weiman said. Stubbys has remained a fixture on Broad Street, forming the so-called Strip, along with Steamboat Pizza, Young’s Bicycle Shop and the Juice Bar. Three other shops on the Strip—Island Coffee, Walter’s Deli and Scooters—are also owned by the same group of Weiman, Scott Kopp and Gita Nakarmi Mali. Nakarmi’s son, Saugat Mali, now runs Stubbys’ Boston location in the Seaport. “What’s special about Stubbys is that on any given day, you’ll see such a mix of people,” Mali said. “Early morning you’ve got folks grabbing breakfast before work, midday is beachgoers and workers on break, and then at night, you’ve got families, friend groups or people grabbing something after going out. It’s a place that fits into people’s everyday lives. We’ve even had customers who started coming as kids and now bring their own kids. That’s when you really feel the generational connection to the place.”

For Weiman—a former bartender at The Boarding House and The Muse—the special sauce for Stubbys has been the mantra of common fare cooked well.  Just a simple burger, a fried chicken sandwich and French fries. Nothing crazy. A few years into having the restaurant, a few of the cooks said they wanted to expand the menu to include some of the food they grew up eating in Jamaica—oxtail, jerk chicken. It’s been on the menu ever since. “It’s the real thing,” Weiman said. “It’s authentic and it’s good. That was something that we just stumbled on, and we just wanted to keep the idea the same that it was good food served cheaply.”

Twenty-five years in, Weiman said the restaurant has resonated with generations of Nantucketers. Anew generation of employees has even stepped in, taking over for the old salts that clocked hour after hour at the frialator. It’s not surprising the restaurant has lived on, Weiman said. “You get up each day and put your pants on and live your life and that’s just the way it goes. And then25 years go by like that,” Weiman said. “I would belying if I were saying we had this grand plan.”