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Burbs Burgers
Exterior of the Pioneer Square, Seattle location in 2023
Restaurant information
ClosedFebruary 2024 (2024-02)
Owner(s)Josh Henderson
ChefJosh Henderson
StateWashington
CountryUnited States
Websiteburbsburger.com

Burbs Burgers was a small restaurant chain based in Seattle, in the U.S. state of Washington. Owned by Chef Josh Henderson, the business operated in the city's Montlake, Pioneer Square, and Ballard neighborhoods. All five locations closed in February 2024.

Description

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Burbs Burgers was a small restaurant chain based in Seattle. The business operated in the city's Montlake, Pioneer Square, and Ballard neighborhoods. The Montlake location was described as "a food truck, plus some fake grass and a couple pergolas for a seating area".[1] The Pioneer Square location was described as a "faux grass-lined sports bar" with "old photos of sports heroes and trophies".[2]

In addition to burgers, the menu included fried chicken sandwiches.[2] The Burbs Classic was a burger with American cheese. The Burbs Special had pickles and "all the works".[3]

History

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The interior of the Pioneer Square location (pictured in 2023), which shares a space with Trophy Pizza and displays photographs of sports players and trophies

Chef and owner Josh Henderson,[4] who previously founded the restaurant chain Skillet, opened two Burbs Burgers locations during the COVID-19 pandemic, in Montlake and on King Street in a Pioneer Square building which had housed his sports bar Quality Athletics.[2][5] The Montlake location opened on October 1, 2020.[1]

During the pandemic, the Pioneer Square location shared a space with other businesses by Henderson: Trophy Pizza, and the pop-up restaurant Cookie's Country Chicken, which served fried chicken.[6] The businesses operated via delivery and take-out at the time.[7] David Gutman and Tan Vinh of The Seattle Times called Henderson "one of the city's most outspoken critics of the vaccination mandate".[8] In February 2022, when Seattle announced plans to "lift its proof-of-vaccination requirement for restaurants, theaters and gyms" effective March 1, he called the policy change "long overdue".[9]

In 2020–2021, Burbs Burgers announced plans to expand to the cities of Burien and Mountlake Terrace.[1][10][11][12] The Burien location was originally slated to open in November 2020.[1] The Mountlake Terrace location was slated to open at Cedar Plaza in 2020.[13][14][15] Burbs Burgers operated at Great Notion Brewing in Ballard as of 2022.[16]

In November 2023, Burbs Burgers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company had planned to expand the Burbs Burgers' name to other parts around the Seattle area post-bankruptcy.[17] However, all five of its locations closed in February 2024.[18][19]

Reception

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Tan Vinh included the cheeseburger in The Seattle Times' 2021 list of "5 best dishes our food critic ate in the Seattle area this month for under $10" and wrote, "This is one of the cheapest smashed burgers around town, and it's as good as many higher-priced versions."[3] Vinh also included Burbs Burgers in a list of the "20 best dishes of 2021", as determined by the newspaper's food critics. Vin recommended the smash burger "for a taste reminiscent of a Big Mac, but without the middle bun. Better, though, is the double cheeseburger with none of the add-ons for a cleaner, beefy bite".[20] Allecia Vermillion of Seattle Metropolitan included Burbs Burgers in a 2023 list of the best eateries near Lumen Field and T-Mobile Park.[5]

Zuri Anderson included the Ballard location in iHeartMedia's 2022 list of Seattle's five best burger restaurants, based on Yelp reviews.[21] Kayla Sager-Riley of The Infatuation called the Pioneer Square restaurant "a fine burger savior after hitting every beer garden in T-Mobile Park or hocking family heirlooms to attend a Beyoncé concert at Lumen Field", and said the location served "just-OK burgers and sometimes-soggy buns".[2] Sager-Riley and Aimee Rizzo also included the business in a 2023 overview of "where to eat near T-Mobile Park and Lumen Field".[22]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "The Week in Five Bites, from Dancing Noodles to Smash Burgers". Seattle Metropolitan. Archived from the original on 2022-06-30. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
  2. ^ a b c d "Burbs Burgers - Pioneer Square - Seattle". The Infatuation. 2023-04-24. Archived from the original on 2023-05-01. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
  3. ^ a b "The 5 best dishes our food critic ate in the Seattle area this month for under $10". The Seattle Times. 2021-01-21. Archived from the original on 2022-05-23. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
  4. ^ "150 businesses in King County receive complaints over not complying with new COVID vaccine verification requirement". The Seattle Times. 2021-11-10. Archived from the original on 2021-11-25. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
  5. ^ a b "Best Restaurants and Bars Near Seattle's Lumen Field and T-Mobile Park". Seattle Metropolitan. Archived from the original on 2023-03-21. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
  6. ^ Huygen, Meg van. "Stop, Collaborate, and Listen... to This Fried Chicken". The Stranger. Archived from the original on 2023-01-27. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
  7. ^ "The Best Takeout Food in Seattle". Seattle Metropolitan. Archived from the original on 2022-10-06. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
  8. ^ "King County will end COVID vaccine requirements at restaurants, bars, gyms". The Seattle Times. 2022-02-16. Archived from the original on 2023-04-29. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
  9. ^ "Vaccine requirements are being lifted across America as Covid cases wane". NBC News. 18 February 2022. Archived from the original on 2023-03-29. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
  10. ^ Merten, Paxtyn (May 29, 2020). "WSDOT picks food truck for former Montlake Market site". Puget Sound Business Journal. Archived from the original on May 1, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  11. ^ "Here are 8 food legacies from the pandemic that will stick around". The Seattle Times. 2021-06-18. Archived from the original on 2021-08-02. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
  12. ^ "23 new restaurant openings in Greater Seattle, including one from Food Network star Guy Fieri". The Seattle Times. 2021-02-20. Archived from the original on 2022-06-28. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
  13. ^ DeKoekkoek, Dustin (2020-04-21). "Chef Josh Henderson Planning Burger Joint in Mountlake Terrace". nextMLT. Archived from the original on 2020-12-14. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
  14. ^ Wippel, Teresa (2020-04-23). "Local chef plans to open new burger joint in Cedar Plaza". MLTnews.com. Archived from the original on 2020-04-30. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
  15. ^ DeKoekkoek, Dustin (2020-09-17). "East Coast Enzo's Pizza to Fill Former Papa John's Space in Cedar Plaza". nextMLT. Archived from the original on 2021-12-14. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
  16. ^ "The Best Breweries In Ballard - Seattle". The Infatuation. 8 September 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-12-03. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
  17. ^ "Burbs Burgers files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy". The Business Journals. November 6, 2023. Archived from the original on January 9, 2024. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
  18. ^ Cheadle, Harry (2024-01-31). "Seattle's Bar and Restaurant Closures, February 2024". Eater Seattle. Archived from the original on 2024-02-04. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
  19. ^ "Once a smash hit, popular Seattle burger chain closes its 5 locations". The Seattle Times. 2024-02-28. Archived from the original on 2024-02-28. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
  20. ^ Vinh, Tan (2021-11-14). "Our food critic's 20 best dishes of 2021". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on 2022-11-11. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
  21. ^ "These Are The Top 5 Burger Joints In Seattle". iHeart. Archived from the original on 2023-05-01. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
  22. ^ "Where To Eat Near T-Mobile Park & Lumen Field - Seattle". The Infatuation. 21 January 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-12-03. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
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