Burger Joint, An Upscale Maryland Hamburger Chain - Founder Mark Bucher No Longer Directly Involved With The Business

[DonRocks]

I noticed some changes in Burger Joint this week: a salad on the menu, no more onions in the sliders, a different bun used for the burgers, more "in your face" beer sales, and an overall more chain-like feeling.

I asked a manager what changed, and was told that Mark Bucher is no longer involved with the company, and that there are apparently differences of opinion in the direction of the food, the brand, and the culture.

The day they stop cooking burgers to order, Burger Joint gets downgraded from Italic in the Dining Guide.

In Mark's own words, "I still remain a large shareholder in BGR and hope for its success, however I am focusing all of my energy on Medium Rare at this time."

It was a good run, Mark, and I wish you the best of luck with Medium Rare.

Rocks

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Edit - At 5:18 PM, we had 89 users reading this topic. That is an unusually high number, and a testament to the popularity of burgers in this city, as well as a fitting tribute to the man behind the only chain in this city that cooks their burgers to order.

89 user(s) are reading this topic

10 members, 76 guests, 0 anonymous users

[DMVDining2]

I noticed some changes in Burger Joint this week: a salad on the menu, no more onions in the sliders, a different bun used for the burgers, more "in your face" beer sales, and an overall more chain-like feeling.

I asked a manager what changed, and was told that Mark Bucher is no longer involved with the company, and that there are apparently differences of opinion in the direction of the food, the brand, and the culture.

The day they stop cooking burgers to order, Burger Joint gets downgraded from Italic in the Dining Guide.

In Mark's own words, "I still remain a large shareholder in BGR and hope for its success, however I am focusing all of my energy on Medium Rare at this time."

It was a good run, Mark, and I wish you the best of luck with Medium Rare.

Rocks

---

Edit - At 5:18 PM, we had 89 users reading this topic. That is an unusually high number, and a testament to the popularity of burgers in this city, as well as a fitting tribute to the man behind the only chain in this city that cooks their burgers to order.

89 user(s) are reading this topic

10 members, 76 guests, 0 anonymous users

Well that's a bummer. Here's hoping they keep using their turkey burger recipe because it's really, really good.

[hopsing]

That is too bad.  I like the burgers when they are freshly cooked.  I don't like that they changed the bun.  I do like that they added a salad.  That was one of my husband's complaints about the place so now maybe we will go more often.

[DaveO]

This past late Spring I found the Clarendon Brgr location to be my favorite place to watch NBA playoff games when not at home.  Part of the reason, I'm sure, (and I think its a pity) is that the place wasn't busy and I/we could always get the table with the best view of the widescreen TV, stretch out, relax, eat and drink, watch the games, rap with the staff,

....oh yeah...and of course enjoy some of the best burgers in the region.

Nice staff btw:

I hope the quality keeps up.

....and they do have a great new fangled every which kind of flavor coke machine.  Oh man, among various and sundry varieties of drinks, I do recall adding the lime flavor to one coke one time and getting an incredibly strong refreshing lime aroma...reminding me for a moment of picking fresh limes.

[mbucher]

Well Hi! BGR still has great burgers and great people. Im still very passionate about burgers and have nothing but the same hopes and dreams for BGR as I had 7 years ago.

[lekkerwijn]

I noticed some changes in Burger Joint this week: a salad on the menu, no more onions in the sliders, a different bun used for the burgers, more "in your face" beer sales, and an overall more chain-like feeling.  

What precisely about adding salad to the menu is a signal that a restaurant is becoming more chain-like and thus going downhill?

[Dr. Delicious]

Who cares about the burgers...are they keeping the goddam soda machine?!?!

[DonRocks]

What precisely about adding salad to the menu is a signal that a restaurant is becoming more chain-like and thus going downhill?

Hey! You're either making a really bad parser or a really good lawyer - read what I wrote!

Cheers,

Naan Seek Witter

[Night Owl]

Hiring a PR firm? http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/qorvis-communications-takes-a-bite-of-the-burger-market-215713171.html

[DanielK]

At least "designed around an exclusive blend of Prime, Dry-aged beef, cooked-to-order, over an open flame" is still listed.

[stockwatch_1999]

Mark

Went to the Cabin John location at around 7:00 on August 1 and had my first bad meal there. Service was super slow - took about 15 minutes to get our meal. They forgot the milkshake and i only got it after i reminded the cashier after 10 minutes. Dirty trays on tables outside. One cook, one prep person and a cashier. Not enough given the volume of patrons. When food arrived burgers were lukewarm. After they placed them from the grill onto the serving plate they then decided to cook the fries. I had the veggie burger which was burnt on the outside and fell apart as soon as I but into it. Corn was tasteless. If this was my first time, I would not go back. howver, having been there many times before, I hope it was an aberration.

[BklynBoy]

I always thought that the BGR bun was the weak spot in an otherwise perfect burger. IMHO, Brioch buns fall apart with juicy burgers. I prefer something closer to a lightly toasted hard kaiser roll that has enough crust to stand up to the juice without falling apart.  What is the new bun like?

[hm212]

I have been enjoying BGR lately - I hope they keep up the quality without Mark and don't screw up a good thing.

[KeithA]

I always thought that the BGR bun was the weak spot in an otherwise perfect burger. IMHO, Brioch buns fall apart with juicy burgers. I prefer something closer to a lightly toasted hard kaiser roll that has enough crust to stand up to the juice without falling apart.  What is the new bun like?

I disagree, I always thought the brioche buttered buns were one of the best parts of a BGR burger along with good meat cooked to order. I haven't been either since the change. Who knows what the new bun is like?

[BklynBoy]

I disagree, I always thought the brioche buttered buns were one of the best parts of a BGR burger along with good meat cooked to order. I haven't been either since the change. Who knows what the new bun is like?

Thank goodness for variety, the spice of life

[cajcaj]

Clarendon branch to close, per Eater

Funnily enough, I heard this news from an employee at Sprint across the street last week while upgrading my phone. I meant to post about it even though it was just a rumor, but I forgot!

For what it's worth, we're not shocked - we had some extremely slow service and messed up orders at this location.

[DonRocks]

Clarendon branch to close, per Eater

Funnily enough, I heard this news from an employee at Sprint across the street last week while upgrading my phone. I meant to post about it even though it was just a rumor, but I forgot!

For what it's worth, we're not shocked - we had some extremely slow service and messed up orders at this location.

The Clarendon branch was an outstanding branch for the diner, but not a good profit center - at least, that's my read on it.

[DaveO]

I've eaten there a number of times as it is convenient and I became a fan of their burgers. Tellingly tho it was never busy. Never.

[RWBooneJr]

It's got to be nearly impossible to afford Clarendon rents without a very busy bar or high prices.  There really isn't a lunch crowd, at least not one that's proportionate to the number of restaurants, so you need to earn a lot in one meal.

[DaveO]

It's got to be nearly impossible to afford Clarendon rents without a very busy bar or high prices.  There really isn't a lunch crowd, at least not one that's proportionate to the number of restaurants, so you need to earn a lot in one meal.

I must admit to being flabbergasted by retail rents in the Roslyn to Ballston corridor along and just off Wilson Blvd.  Metro along the corridor took off in the 80's and has been expanding with all sorts of high rises during 30 year period.  During the mid 90's retail rents still trailed a lot of other corridors and both active retailers and restaurants often avoided or overlooked this entire area.

Sometime after 2000 the rents exploded.  The Clarendon development with Apple and other stores had a lot to do with it, the explosion of high rise residential in Clarendon and elsewhere along the corridor...and the evolution of a killer restaurant/bar/shopping node...all came together.

Restaurant/retailers who have been along the corridor and had 5 year leases with renewals have really experienced the humongous increases.   I am continuously stunned by retail rents in this corridor that aren't in Clarendon...and Clarendon in the newer buildings has to be the epicenter of high rents.

Over the last year, 1 1/2 years I took a liking to Burger in Clarendon and would be their sporadically but consistently month to month around lunch and around dinner/late.   I NEVER saw the place crowded.   It just had to take a beating relative to the rents it was paying...at least from my observations.

I imagine the same phenomena has hit Bethesda....and its heightened inside the District itself.

(on the other hand...its great to be a long term landlord in this corridor--just great    )

[stockwatch_1999]

Saw a sign at the Cabin John location that they now have a grilled chicken sandwich option. Another sign of the new ownership.

[DonRocks]

Saw a sign at the Cabin John location that they now have a grilled chicken sandwich option. Another sign of the new ownership.

At least some of the BGR restaurants are also serving hot dogs ... and salads.  Well, I kind of liked the "lobster roll" which they've had on their menu forever, even though it was somewhat cobbled together (frozen lobster salad spread out over three Martin's potato rolls).

(I downgraded BGR from Italic to Plain awhile back, though I still have them as the best Multiple Locations hamburger restaurant - for now).

[ulrath]

We went last Saturday to the Springfield location.  Got lucky and got our orders in before everyone and their dog came in.  Place was doing a brisk business.  With all that said the burgers were only ok.  Mine was medium rare but still very dry.  My wife and I commented that we had better burgers at Fudruckers.  The most notable part of the evening was my three year old inhaling his two sliders and being the first one done.  I agree with the move to de-italicize the place.

[hm212]

Glad they are serving chicken options - I have a daughter that refuses to eat ground beef and this restaurant was off limits.

[KoolPaw]

I've had two burgers at the Springfield location recently, and they really are stupendous. The best burgers I've had in a long time. Fuddruckers and Five Guys aren't close, although Five Guys fries are unbeatable.

[SeanMike]

So not having kept up on their expansion, I got a bit of a surprise last Friday. I was driving back from West Springfield, MA, to Arlington, and was on some little kind of highway thing in NY. Running low on gas, I picked a random exit to try to find some.

Big mistake. Evidently there are no gas stations that I could locate in quaint, downtown Mount Kisco, NY.

There was, however, a BGR.

Whaddyaknow?!

(Being that it was around 9 AM, I did not stop. But I was surprised to see it, even if I was still mad I couldn't find a gas station.)

[ktmoomau]

I will say... as someone who eats gluten free, I find most GF hamburger buns not very appetizing, but I do like the lettuce wrap thing they have going on at BGR (at least the Spout Run location).  You don't feel icky after eating it like you do most heavy GF buns, and it cuts the calories by quite a bit too which is nice.  It can be a little runny with juices, but I don't find that a bad thing, normally when eating a burger, I am not above some au jus on the hands.  They seems to choose pretty sturdy pieces of lettuce.  I have only done it eating in, so I don't know that it would hold up on delivery, but I have had it with a burger and grilled chicken and have been pleased.  My chicken, avocado, bacon, mayo lettuce wrap combo the other day was pretty darn tasty.  

[squidsdc]

I will say... as someone who eats gluten free, I find most GF hamburger buns not very appetizing, but I do like the lettuce wrap thing they have going on at BGR (at least the Spout Run location).  You don't feel icky after eating it like you do most heavy GF buns, and it cuts the calories by quite a bit too which is nice.  It can be a little runny with juices, but I don't find that a bad thing, normally when eating a burger, I am not above some au jus on the hands.  They seems to choose pretty sturdy pieces of lettuce.  I have only done it eating in, so I don't know that it would hold up on delivery, but I have had it with a burger and grilled chicken and have been pleased.  My chicken, avocado, bacon, mayo lettuce wrap combo the other day was pretty darn tasty.  

By choice (I'm not celiac--yet!) I like to eat a burger atop a salad. One can also order any burger on top of a salad at BGR.

[Pool Boy]

Well just catching up after a long while and seeing that BGR is becoming chainified? GAH! Will have to check in on the Bethesda location to see how good/bad it is. 

[DonRocks]

Well just catching up after a long while and seeing that BGR is becoming chainified? GAH! Will have to check in on the Bethesda location to see how good/bad it is. 

BGR has *been* chainified; but now it's no longer Buchified, and is showing signs (clear, obvious signs) of loss of quality control.

[darkstar965]

BGR has *been* chainified; but now it's no longer Buchified, and is showing signs (clear, obvious signs) of loss of quality control.

Which may mean there is still opportunity for great, high-quality burgers in this market with the demise of BGR at the low end and Palena at the high end.

[hopsing]

BGR has *been* chainified; but now it's no longer Buchified, and is showing signs (clear, obvious signs) of loss of quality control.

Can you elaborate on the loss of quality control?  I've eaten a couple of times recently at the Spout Run location and it doesn't seem any better or worse than it used to be.  Crowds are less so it is easier to get a seat--maybe that is due to lack of quality?

[DonRocks]

Can you elaborate on the loss of quality control?  I've eaten a couple of times recently at the Spout Run location and it doesn't seem any better or worse than it used to be.  Crowds are less so it is easier to get a seat--maybe that is due to lack of quality?

"Quality-control" was not a good term because that implies a knowledge of their internal operations that doesn't exist. My most recent experience was in Springfield, about two weeks ago. Matt got a burger and garlic fries and said they seemed "different" (without saying "better" or "worse") - I looked, and I could see what he was talking about, plus his medium-rare burger was cooked to well-done - no pink at all - and BGR has always been consistent about cooking to correct temperature (it was this incident that led me to drop the Italics in the Dining Guide, btw, but I still have them ranked as the #1 hamburger chain, above the illogically overrated Shake Shack). One odd thing to me (that others might like) is that BGR started serving salads. I also have this nagging voice in the back of my head saying something about the rolls - they used to serve Martin's potato rolls with the mini-burgers, and had non-Martin's, sesame-seed buns for the regular-sized sandwiches. The next time I get a burger - which could be a few weeks from now - I'll make it a point to go to BGR so I can either strengthen or weaken my statement, and I'm hoping your Spout Run experiences are the status quo.

[DanielK]

I ignore salads, specials, and sides other than fries/rings. I haven't had a tomato here that wasn't pink in a long time.

But the underlying patty is as good as ever, and it's always cooked to my desired temperature. Fries are always hot and crisp. The Cabin John location continues to serve the best burger in the immediate Rockville/Potomac area.

[jandres374]

We have kept the Bethesda location in our rotation and they are consistent.  The Old Town Alexandria location on the other hand is a mess.

[ktmoomau]

We have kept the Bethesda location in our rotation and they are consistent.  The Old Town Alexandria location on the other hand is a mess.

I have only been to the old town location a couple times, but they seem very disorganized.  I much prefer the Clarendon or Spout Run locations.  I agree that you shouldn't waste your time on anything but a burger.  I will give them credit for the lettuce bun option being wrapped pretty well the last couple times at Spout Run.  (I justify eating fries by not eating any type of bun, I know this probably isn't exactly even in terms of calories, but it eases my conscience a little.)  I like their burgers better than other burger chains though (Five Guys, Big Buns) and now that MK works at Mount Vernon it's on the way home and he can pick it up.

[Pool Boy]

We have kept the Bethesda location in our rotation and they are consistent.  The Old Town Alexandria location on the other hand is a mess.

I have not been to the Bethesda location in at least a year, but my issue has always been that they do not know when a medium rare burger looks like. That said, even if they did, I'd go rarely as indulging in such a large lunch is more or less impossible for me most of the time.

[bookluvingbabe]

I ignore salads, specials, and sides other than fries/rings. I haven't had a tomato here that wasn't pink in a long time.

But the underlying patty is as good as ever, and it's always cooked to my desired temperature. Fries are always hot and crisp. The Cabin John location continues to serve the best burger in the immediate Rockville/Potomac area.

And we stopped going to the Cabin John location because the burgers were consistently hockey pucks no matter how much I begged for them to be medium rare.  Even having the cute kid look sadly at the manager and asking that his dinner not be suitable for the Capitols game didn't work...

[cheezepowder]

I have only been to the old town location a couple times, but they seem very disorganized.  I much prefer the Clarendon or Spout Run locations. 

To save you a trip, fyi, the Clarendon location closed.  It's now Amsterdam Falafel.

[DanielK]

And we stopped going to the Cabin John location because the burgers were consistently hockey pucks no matter how much I begged for them to be medium rare.  Even having the cute kid look sadly at the manager and asking that his dinner not be suitable for the Capitols game didn't work...  

I've never ordered anything but MR from the Cabin John location, and the only thing I've ever gotten is MR or rare.

[cheezepowder]

Opening in Milestone Center, 20940-B Frederick Rd, Germantown, MD on Feb. 5, 2015 (via Burger Joint's Facebook page).

[Lydia R]

Opening in Milestone Center, 20940-B Frederick Rd, Germantown, MD on Feb. 5, 2015 (via Burger Joint's Facebook page).

This location is in the Giant side of the shopping center near Starbucks and about 0.6 miles from the Smashburger (near Wegmans).

[silentbob]

One more data point -- last Friday I ordered a medium-rare burger from the Spout Run location and it came out that way as well.  Nice beefy flavor.  Fries came out with the right amount of crisp.

For the price, not as good as Ray's but certainly better than most places in this area.

[DonRocks]

It had been over two years since I'd been to any location of BGR - The Burger Joint, and following the credo, "Anything worth doing is worth overdoing," I continued my day's theme of hamburgers, having already been to Elevation Burger earlier in the day.

I'd finished a remarkable amount of work, and although I wasn't starving, I knew I'd need to eat one more time that evening, so I thought I'd compare the exact same sandwiches: a Double-Meat Hamburger ($9.98), with nothing on it but mustard and pickle.

Unlike with Elevation Burger, I was asked about doneness, and I said Medium-Rare, which is exactly what I got. Also unlike with Elevation Burger, I was relegated to the toppings station to add my own mustard (the pickles, and an inexplicable piece of Swiss Cheese, were already on the burger) - I had made it a point to specify no cheese since I was trying to do a direct comparison. To BGR's credit, they offered to *remake* my ten-dollar sandwich - I told them there was absolutely no need, that the cheese was fine, and even if it wasn't, I could just scrape it off.

So after 5-10 minutes, my buzzer went off, and my burger was waiting for me. I saw right away that it was almost *double* the size of my earlier Elevation Burger - the patties themselves being over a half-inch thick, and cooked to the correct temperature. This burger was large enough (a second patty isn't the norm here) that it was not that easy to fit the sandwich into my mouth - and, in fact, I gave up after awhile and ate one patty at a time.

The difference in quality was laughable. I had previously lowered BGR when it changed ownership, but it is now *strongly* back in Italic, and is, in fact, the only chain hamburger restaurant to be so in the entire DC area. In fact, I'll go so far as to say this was one of the best BGR burgers I've ever eaten. And it was so big, that I could scarcely finish it - the last bite or so was discarded because I was just too full.

This was an excellent hamburger (I went to the Spout Run location), and one which I would *gladly* seek out in the future; Elevation Burger would only be frequented in similar, emergency-type situations. Raised to the #1 Hamburger chain in the Dining Guide, and rated in Italic once again. If there's a higher quality chain hamburger than this, I'd like to know what it is.

[monkeyrotica]

Will have to give this one a try. I gave up on BGR a few years ago after a horrible experience at the Dupont shop. Same with Five Guys, but I eventually found one that's consistent (the Quander Road store off Route 1). And I'm avoiding the Union Station Shake Shack for the same reason. What's the point of a franchise if consistency goes out the window?

[DanielK]

There's a handful of posts from me already in this thread about how much we like BGR.

Don, another huge difference between them is the sides. BGR has excellent (though obviously frozen) fries and rings. Elevation's fries are inedible - they use olive oil for cooking, which means they can't cook them at a high enough temperature, so the fries are always greasy.

[alexandria1]

Old Town location closed a few weeks ago.

I guess Five Guys has won the local burger wars.

[ktmoomau]

17 hours ago, alexandria1 said:

Old Town location closed a few weeks ago.

I guess Five Guys has won the local burger wars.

I think it was more the location- not that Five Guys has great parking, but King St gets more foot traffic and there is some parking around it.  BGR Joint meanwhile was just off King (so you would forget about it on your drunk stumble up and down the street, I don't even know how late they stayed open?) and had no close by parking- so say if your office wanted to get it for lunch, you would need someone to volunteer to drive and someone to run in and pick up the order and come back out if you aren't in easy walking distance OR if you had a big order.  We really liked it, but the PITA location kept us from going more.  I bet they normally do a decent carry out business in other locations.

[MarkS]

In Annapolis the best burgers are in non-chain local places such as Davis's pub(Sailor's dive),  Ebbtide(Local Dive), Grumps(stuffed with Bacon), Lures(beer selection).  The chains come and go but do not seem to be killing it.  I think we just got a Cali Burger fairly positive I'll never go.  Ebbtide offer 3 types of fires; regular; curly and tots.  Add cheap beer and no windows, not much more one needs.

[DonRocks]

Does BGR still cook to-order? If so, this is a sad commentary, because it extends outward from cuisine.