A romance between two high school sweethearts blossomed over a sandwich and some onion rings. It's a love story that began at a Papillion Runza Restaurant.
Jenna and Ben Thornburg began dating while students at Papillion-La Vista South High School.
Their love affair with Runza began with late night dates over the signature sandwich.
Ben is a long time fan of the fast food joint. He worked there for about a year and a half in high school. So naturally, when it came to homecoming, Ben cooked up a romantic scheme that Jenna couldn't turn down.
"So, I put the letters up on the sign for Jenna Lower homecoming," said Ben Thornburg. "And then told her my car broke down and I couldn't get it started so I made her come pick up from work."
"It was kind of funny because I was having sort of an attitude because he said his car broke down," said Jenna."And I was like, ugh I've got to go pick him up from work and it's annoying. I didn't even see it at first and he kind of pointed it out. I loved it."
Since then, Runza has been a part of the couple's relationship milestones. Milestones from a cheeseburger "promposal," to dates at their special table.
"We had homecoming that one time. We brought table cloths and put up candles and stuff at that Runza. And we were all dressed up for our prom dinner," said Ben. "We just had a kind of weird relationship."
The romance came full circle this January when Jenna and Ben made a Runza run after saying their "I -do's" and jokingly marked matrimony with a pair of onion ring wedding bands.
The couple now live in Jacksonville, North Carolina where Ben is stationed in the Marine Corps. They hope to move back to the Omaha metro area once his enlistment is finished.
