Restaurant’s ‘irreverent’ hamburger name leads to complaint

Customer considers burger nicknamed ‘Sum Yung Guy’ demeaning

When Eoin Forbes took his Korean wife and their 12-year-old daughter to The Works in Burlington for the first time, he wasn’t expecting to leave with a bad taste in his mouth. But his issue wasn’t the food. No, he felt the “Sum Yung Guy” hamburger name was in poor taste.

“They have a lot of frat or obnoxious humour, which I’m not a fan of, but when it came to that menu item I was a little perturbed,” said Forbes.

He found the name, which mimics the sound of an East Asian name, to be demeaning to someone of Korean or Chinese descent, but also “a bit gross.”

A spokesperson for The Works Gourmet Burger Bistro, Wendy Spence, said her company has a history of deriving its burger names from different pop culture references or community landmarks.

In this case, the “Sum Yung Guy” burger is a reference to “Wayne’s World,” a 1992 comedy starring Mike Myers, Dana Carvey and Rob Lowe.

In the film, Myers asks Lowe to order “cream of sum yung guy” from a Chinese restaurant.

The hamburger at The Works contains cream cheese, caramelized onions, Gouda and bacon.

The “Sum Yung Guy” burger has been around since the first restaurant opened in 2001, said Spence.

She added that the intention is to “have a little bit of fun.” In her three years at The Works, she has never heard a complaint about the name.

The burger was named after one of its first employees, a young staff member who still works with the company, who was given the nickname — like most employees are — when it became apparent his favourite movie was “Wayne’s World.”

“I wouldn’t say we are trying to be sexual — we are trying to be irreverent,” said Spence.

Forbes said he will not be returning to the restaurant, after being told by a spokesperson that the name was simply “cheeky.”

He feels the same barometer society applies for other unacceptable racialized humour has not been applied to Asian culture.

Karen Bird, professor of political science specializing in comparative politics at McMaster University, agreed that the menu item was in bad taste, though she wasn’t sure many would understand “quite how bad.”

The obvious solution would be for the restaurant to find another name, but Bird posits that publicity surrounding a controversial name could simply be good for business.

Spence said the company frequently opens up dialogue with its customers and invites them to review names and products before they are put out.

At this point, Spence said there has been no discussion of removing the name, but the company would be reviewing it as a team.

“We take all our guest feedback seriously,” she said.