‘All-natural’ burger chain coming to former Chutney’s space (via Town Talk)

My colleague Chad, our city reporter whose Town Talk blog brings us the scoop on all kinds of businesses before they even open, today reports that an “all-natural” hamburger chain is coming to the space formerly occupied by Chutney’s Indian Diner and Bar, 918 Massachusetts St.

According to Chad’s latest post:

Franchise owners Josh and Michelle Kurzban plan to open their restaurant, called BurgerFi, by mid-spring. The Florida-based chain has 36 restaurants nationwide but expects to have 75 by the end of 2014.

The restaurant says all its hamburgers are made of free-range, hormone-free, never-frozen Angus beef. Also on the menu: a brisket burger made from dry-aged ground brisket; five different styles of hot dogs; hand-cut fries that can be ordered regular, well-done or limp; beer and wine; and frozen custard desserts made with sugar cane. One especially unique item to watch for, Chad notes, is the Breakfast All Day Burger, with hickory bacon drizzled with maple syrup, a fried egg and hashbrowns.

http://www.lawrence.com/users/photos/2014/mar/05/269997/

The BurgerFi website is splashed with phrases like “locally grown” and “farm to tray.” Since it’s a national brand, I’m interested to see whether they’ll serve food that’s actually local to us (Remember Local Burger? All their various meats came from named farms within a few hours drive.) or “local” to some other place. One last notable I spotted on their menu: bottles of Mexican Coke.

Tips welcome!

Try something unusual or know of something interesting going on at a Lawrence restaurant? Send me an email at sshepherd@ljworld.com or contact me on Twitter @saramarieshep. For more local food and restaurant news, click here.