Fergburger raises the bar in Queenstown
As the Ferg empire expands, Jo McKenzie-McLean looks at where the world-famous Fergburger all began – and what the fuss is all about.
‘‘No-one gets to know who Ferg is. He is someone different to everyone . . . to us he is the person who guides us, makes us look after our customers and create fun things.’’
Stephen Bradley
Fergburger’s fame might have spread across the globe, but the face behind the food phenomenon operates out of the limelight. Queenstown’s world-famous Fergburger has hit the headlines again, this time for opening a bar in the middle of an economic bloodbath in the resort town.
But, even the current Covid-19 crisis isn’t standing in the way of Ferg’s expanding empire.
The world-famous Fergburger is now flanked by off-shoot Ferg businesses, with the opening of Ferg’s Bar last week.
The expanding Ferg precinct on Shotover St in the centre of the town has come a long way from its humble beginnings in 2001, when it operated as a late-night burger joint from a hole-in-the-wall in Cow Lane.
The workspace was so tiny that staff struggled to cook the burgers on two Warehouse barbecues.
Fergburger moved to its present location in 2005 and has since taken over the block with Fergbaker and Mrs Fergs – a bakery and icecream shop.
It has also taken over the pavement. Crowds queueing for the monster meals grew to such proportions that $195,000 was spent extending the footpath in 2015.
Fergburger’s global fame has made the establishment a Queenstown institution.
The cult store has hosted celebrities from Ed Sheeran to Justin Bieber, Orlando Bloom, and UB40, and it has appeared in articles from CNN to
The Telegraph, Lonely Planet, NineMSN and the Los Angeles Times.
It rocks around 47,000 posts on Instagram with the hashtag, #fergburger.
Pre-Covid-19 days, throngs of tourists would queue for up to an hour for a burger described by New Zealand chef Josh Emett as ‘‘picture-perfect’’.
The Michelin star chef ‘‘judged’’ it a worldleading burger earlier this year, saying:
‘‘You will always remember your first Fergburger. First, there’s the long queue, and then the care taken to put them together, so they are all pictureperfect. I love a bit of avocado and bacon in anything and these burgers never disappoint.’’
However, the man behind the Ferg empire is as elusive as the origin of the establishment’s name.
Group general manager Stephen Bradley is careful not to reveal too much about the owner, who has been in the business since ‘‘day one’’.
He keeps a low profile and operates behind the scenes, but calls in every day and knows all his employees by name.
‘‘He is heavily involved in the business each day. We are 100 per cent locally owned and everything we do goes back into our community. We are a privately owned company, and we are very proud of that.’’
A New Zealand Companies Register search shows owner Richard Anthony Redvers Smith, known as Ant, is the director of several companies, not limited to the Ferg food ones.
In 2006, The Southland Times reported the liquor licensing authority describing Smith as Fergburger’s ‘‘alter-ego’’.
‘‘He is the sole director and shareholder. However, Mr Smith is not involved in managing the business and employs two people with general manager certificates,’’ the article stated.
Bradley’s explanation of the origin of the Ferg name is as cryptic as his determination to keep the owner out of the limelight.
‘‘No-one gets to know who Ferg is. He is someone different to everyone. Some say he was an old goldminer, some say he was the first person to go over the Shotover in a barrel, to us he is the person who guides us, makes us look after our customers and create fun things.’’
The secret to Fergburger’s runaway success has been a combination of things, Bradley says.
‘‘[The burgers] are made fresh every day with love and care.
‘‘The patties are handmade, the sauces are handmade, we make the buns . . . in our own bakery. You can’t get fresher.’’
There are 19 burgers, with the most popular being the Ferg Deluxe (Prime New Zealand beef, streaky bacon, cheddar cheese, sweet dill pickle,
lettuce, tomato, red onion, aioli, and tomato relish), he says.
The success is also because of the staff, he says. ‘‘It’s our people. It’s always been our people. Our people create fantastic quality product, our suppliers get behind us, and it all just comes together.’’
Its 120 staff has just increased by 20 with the new bar opening.
The ramifications of Covid-19 have been ‘‘horrific’’ for the company, as for all Queenstown businesses, but they have a glass ‘‘quarter full’’ mentality and are ‘‘giving it a go’’.
‘‘At the moment, we have made no-one redundant, in fact we have hired new people. We have been grateful for the wage subsidy, we have used it . . . we rejigged rosters, reduced hours, we have changed things around.’’
Queenstown Lakes District Mayor Jim Boult says the Ferg Group has done a remarkable job to not only open a new business and create new jobs, but also to maintain a large staff without redundancies through an extremely difficult period.
‘‘Their commitment to Queenstown is commendable,’’ Boult says.