Leticia Ward waited 15 years and traveled 2,000 miles for a special reunion — with a mushroom burger.

Ward enjoyed her Noah’s Ark mushroom burger for the second day in a row Tuesday, with her husband and son from Austin, Texas in tow.

“I just love the mushroom burger,” said Ward, who lived in Bremerton 15 years ago. “It’s so good.”

And now with her family, who ate mushroom burgers and Reuben sandwiches, she can show them what they’ve been missing in Texas.

“We’re definitely a destination restaurant,” said Bianca Garguile, customer service manager at Noah’s Ark on Sixth Street and a member of the family restaurant’s third generation. “We let my family make lunch or dinner for your family.”

Noah’s Ark, named after Bianca Garguile’s great-grandfather, opened in 1974 and has since developed a reputation for its homemade fare, such as the best-selling Ark Burger and Philly steak sandwiches.

Business has slowed down during the recession, Bianca Garguile said, but the restaurant is still sustained by its loyal customers, such as the shipyard workers just blocks away and the teachers and students from the surrounding schools. Many of the same families still come in every Saturday, as they have for years.

As for Leticia Ward’s Texan husband, Richard Ward, he was sold on Noah’s atmosphere and his Reuben.

“It’s got tasty food, nice ambience,” he said.

Leticia Ward said she liked the friendly service.

“The people are nice,” she said.

And that’s what Bianca Garguile hopes will keep hungry customers coming amid the economic decline.

“They can go anywhere to get a hamburger, but we hope they always come here and that they come out feeling good,” she said.