Baptism by fire for burger bar
In the time it takes most people to tie their shoelace, Sam Kubiak gets a burger with all the trimmings from grill to plate.
In a converted 1960s Starliner caravan, he and partner Caroline Riley served a burger a minute to a barrage hungry of customers. Given their experience, they were confident the opening of their first brick-and-mortar store wouldn’t be ‘‘too bad’’, despite it looking to be one of the busiest days of the year.
‘‘In two years with the caravan we only had one real problem person, so it’s been pretty lucky,’’ Riley said.
The Burger Joint, on Carnaby Lane in New Brighton, will open its doors for the first time on Saturday. A baptism by fire, the official opening will coincide with the end of the Coast to Coast, which will finish at New Brighton beach.
Kubiak said the pair had little experience in the restaurant business when Riley saw the caravan for sale online two years ago. Immediately they knew they ‘‘had to have it’’.
A grill was installed and the food caravan was soon open for business outside the New Brighton Surf Life Saving Club.
Since then, the community support for the travelling caravan had been ‘‘amazing’’, he said. Local produce, including bread and meat sourced from Canterbury, helped to give back to the community, and the pair were passionate about regenerating the area.
New Brighton’s new beachfront playground, a multimillion-dollar regeneration plan and events like Kite Day drew crowds to the seaside suburb, but vacant shops awaiting quake repair and empty land where damaged buildings came down have not helped with improving its image. But Kubiak said the area was on the rise and hoped to help foster a resurgence of good eateries.
Riley said the store also offered a chance to expand their menu.
Crowd favourites, including the Eastery with a 300 gram patty – the equivalent of 10 McDonald’s hamburgers – would remain but fries, boutique wines and a specially made tap beer would be added to the lineup.
It’s the kind of food you’ll need a handful of serviettes to clean yourself up with – if you can refrain from finger-licking.
Over time they hoped to expand their plant-based options for their ‘‘vegan friends’’, Riley said. Currently, that includes a spicy vegetable, rice and bean burger.
She said the store’s retro fitout played homage to their humble beginnings. The counter was measured and styled to exactly match the side of the caravan and upcycled, reupholstered and mismatched furniture gave it a relaxed, ‘‘beachy’’ vibe, she said.
The store will serve its first burgers from tomorrow, ahead of the official opening on Saturday.