By Richard Mullins, The Tampa Tribune
Published May 28, 2010
TAMPA – Larry Maler doesn’t consider himself a real burger kind of guy.
So he’s a bit surprised to find himself munching away at Burger Monger in Carrollwood for a second time in three days since the restaurant opened.
“It’s such high quality meat,” Maler said. “And I really like the look and feel of the place.”
Welcome to the club, Mr. Maler. In the otherwise awful restaurant market, where chains are going belly up with each passing week, the “upscale burger” is a white hot trend, even if they top out at $12 apiece.
Burgers and sandwiches appear to be the only two segments to rise in an otherwise downward slide of the entire restaurant market, according to restaurant tracker NPD Group.
In Tampa Bay alone, there’s growth at Square One Burger, a slew of new Five Guys locations, plus new entrants like Burger Monger, and Hamburger Mary’s. Soon Jake’s Hamburgers expects to open more locations in Tampa Bay, and by year’s end, Square One could open two more locations in Sarasota.
To be sure, restaurant fads come and go with each season. Right now, cupcake spots are opening up nationwide. So are more burrito franchises. But this year’s cupcake can easily devolve into last year’s frozen yogurt flop.
For now, burgers rule. Total burger servings in 2009 topped 9.3 billion, a jump of 800,000 since 2005. And this latest burger boom is firmly focused on the unabashed binge experience of a downing a juicy burger.
In fact, the more gluttonous the experience, the better for business.
More burger restaurants like Five Guys consider a double patty their standard burger, with the single-patty version considered a “junior” choice. The new standard French fry order can fill a dinner plate.
And in many cases, it’s not enough for the burger to be all beef. The beef also has a back story.
Burger Monger opened this month in Carrollwood to great success, and managers there tell customers the daring tale of how a Texas rancher years ago snuck eight rare “Akaushi” cattle out of Japan, despite nefarious meddling by the Japanese government, then nursed the cattle to a herd of 6,000 for market. That beef ranks “several levels” above USDA prime, with a distinct ratio of fat, or “marbling,” to enhance the flavor.
To top off that meat, Burger Monger offers cherry wood smoked bacon and Amish blue cheese. Total price: $12.97. A half-pound order of fries, the smallest available, costs $1.99.
French fries aren’t merely fried in vegetable or peanut oil. They’re fried in beef fat oil, which tolerates a higher frying temperature, leading to faster cook times and some say a less oily taste. Shakes at Burger Monger are made with Haagen Dazs ice cream.
“In our first day, we sold so many shakes, we had to run to every grocery store we could find to buy more Haagen Dazs,” said Burger Monger owner Jake Hickton. “If you couldn’t get ice cream that weekend, we’re the culprit.”
Five Guys is driving one of the biggest burger booms in the Bay area, building 18 locations in the last several years. Nationwide, the chain that had just five locations in Washington, D.C., in 2002 has opened 550 locations in 35 states.
With a self-professed obsession with burgers, the chain focuses on fresh-cooked burgers, peanut-oil fried fries and hot dogs. As for the health vs. taste tradeoff, Five Guys comes down squarely on taste. The bacon cheeseburger weighs in at 920 calories and 62 grams of fat. A regular order of fries has 620 calories and 30 grams of fat.
Jake’s Hamburgers now has locations in Tampa and Lutz, but will soon open more, said local franchise owner Mark Biccum. Their signature sandwich, the Jake’s Cheeseburger: two patties of meat, cheese and any toppings, $4.59.
Square One offers table service and wine with their burgers. But there’s also an unabashed celebration of a burger.
“We don’t shy away from that,” said manager Stanley Young. “We are what we are, we serve fried pickles too. Unlike other restaurants in the area, Square One saw a jump in sales over last year, Young said.
The best-selling sandwich is the $11.99 Buffalo Bob burger, made of ground buffalo meat, topped with cheese, onion and bacon.
Leaving aside the large chains like McDonald’s, Burger King or even Fuddrucker’s, the upscale burger trend seems to have kicked into high gear several years ago when gourmet restaurants embraced the burger as a homage to Americana.
Within that trend, eateries often sold sets of three mini-burgers with upscale ingredients like Kobe beef and exotic cheeses.
In 2008, Bon Appetit magazine counted no less than 14 celebrity chefs launching burger concept restaurants.
Food celebrity Emeril Lagasse launched his Burgers and More (“BAM”). Celebrity chef Bobby Flay launched “Bobby’s Burger Palace.” And Rachel Ray hosts her own “Burger Bash” at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival in Miami.
Now that trend is playing out on a larger scale for several reasons, said Bonnie Riggs, an analyst at NPD Group.
First, burgers tend to be a cheaper option for diners looking to trade down. Diners can still go to a restaurant, but order a burger instead of a steak, especially if they’re presented as a more fancy option as three mini gourmet burgers.
And burgers are flexible, with a lot of different options for customization, Riggs said, one reason burrito chains are also seeing growth.
A resurgent economy may ultimately shift dining tastes back to upscale items like steak or high-end seafood. But for now, more restaurants seem to see only momentum in burgers.
National Restaurant News recently noted growth in “slider” sales. Boston Market launched a line of “Market Sliders,” priced at $2.99 for three. While Jack in the Box launched mini sirloin burgers, and this year McDonald’s started testing McMini sandwiches in Canada.
Applebee’s is expanding its range of regional burgers, with varieties like the “Philly Burger,” the “Southwest Burger,” and the “Cowboy Burger.”
Burger restaurants do face some risk, Riggs said, especially as beef prices are expected to rise. Still, in the last four recessions tracked by NPD, burgers tend to “lead us out,” Riggs said, so if burger growth does slow down, that may not come for at least the next several years.
Reporter Richard Mullins can be reached at (813) 259-7919.