Brening, Alex & Sally Brening Everett

Alex Brening and his sister Sarah (Sally) Brening Everett founded their first restaurant in 1950 at 2600 Park Road in Lincoln, Nebraska, and began selling runzas, a traditional Volga German hamburger, onion, and cabbage mixture wrapped in dough. There are now over 80 Runza Restaurant locations in Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, and Colorado. [Runzas are called by several different names, depending upon the traditions of particular Volga German families: runza, bierock, krautbierock, krautbrock, krautburger, etc.]

Leadership of the Runza Restaurant business passed to Sally's son Donald R. Everett followed by his son Donald Everett, Jr.

Sarah "Sally" Edna Brening (14 August 1912 - 23 January 1989) & Alexander "Al" Brening Jr. (1 January 1916 - 8 June 1992) were born in Filmore County, Nebraska, to Alexander Brening Sr. & Katharina Sophia Lehr. Their Volga German ancestors came from the colony of Kutter.