photo by: Burgerim

What I know about mini-hamburgers is that they are a lot better if you spell them m-a-n-y hamburgers. You’ll get a chance to find out for yourself because there is a new hamburger chain coming to Lawrence that sells their small hamburgers a sack at a time.

The restaurant chain Burgerim has reached a deal to locate in the Pine Ridge Plaza shopping center near 33rd and Iowa streets. If you haven’t heard of Burgerim, don’t feel bad. The company is relatively new to America. It has its roots in Israel, and several references online say Burgerim is Hebrew for “many burgers.” Burgerim opened its first U.S. location in California in 2016.

It looks like Lawrence may become its first Kansas location. I had heard speculation around town that Burgerim was coming to Lawrence, and indeed the company’s website has a “coming soon” listing for 3140 Iowa St. I’ve got a call into the company’s headquarters to find out more.

Burgerim Gourmet Burgers

What I can tell you from a bit of research is that Burgerim is all about small hamburgers, but lots of them. According to its online menu, each hamburger patty is only 3 ounces. But the company offers 11 patty options, and most of its combo meals feature two or three burgers at a time, and one option is a sack of 16 burgers.

The different types of patties seem to be one of the restaurant’s big selling points. The patty choices include traditional beef patty, dry-aged beef, Wagyu beef, a spicy-style beef called Merquez, turkey, lamb, chicken, salmon, chorizo and a veggie burger.

In addition to the patty choices, burgers come with nearly a dozen topping choices, including your standard fare of lettuce, tomato and onions, but also grilled onions, mushroom, a fried egg, pineapple, avocado, jalapeños and more.

According to other articles I’ve read about the chain, the company focuses on mini-hamburgers because they like the idea of people being able to have a variety of tastes in one meal. As its website notes, maybe you have a hankering for a traditional cheeseburger, but also would like to dip your toe into the Mediterranean with a lamb burger.

The mix-and-match idea also extends to some of its side dishes. The restaurant offers both regular fries — actually they look like potato discs instead of fries — and sweet potato fries. But the menu offers a half-and-half option, meaning you can get both types of fries with a single order.

No word on when the restaurant is set to open. Look for it to go into the part of the Pine Ridge Plaza that includes the row of shops such as Jason’s Deli, Men’s Wearhouse and other smaller retailers.

In other news and notes from around town:

• It looks like area residents have one less hamburger choice in town. The Sonic Drive-In in North Lawrence has closed. There are chains across the driveway entrances, and the Sonic corporate website lists the location as being permanently closed.

The north location is owned by the DL Rogers Corp., which is a Texas-based company that has quite a few Sonic franchises in Kansas. I put a call into the company to get more details but haven’t yet heard back from a spokeswoman there.

It is a busy day, however, in Sonic land. The entire Sonic corporation, based in Oklahoma City, announced it has struck a deal to be bought by a private restaurant group. Inspire Brands Inc., which owns Arby’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Rusty Taco restaurants, has agreed to buy Sonic Corp. in a $2.3 billion deal.

The deal was just announced this morning, so no word on whether Sonic locations should expect any other change.

Lawrence’s three other Sonic locations on Sixth, 23rd and 31st streets, appear to be unaffected by the changes.

photo by: Chad Lawhorn

Plans have been filed for the former Sonic restaurant in North Lawrence to serve as a car lot and tow service business. The restaurant has been closed since September 2018.