Urban Outposts: Burger Boys Is Back in Town

Andre Bryant is having a full circle moment as Burger Boys has opened its new location at 3000 North Broadway today, July 6 (drive-thru only for now; dining room should be open by Friday). If getting to refer to the classic Thin Lizzy song in the title isn’t hyping me up enough, knowing the wait to order from Burger Boys is almost over definitely does. Bryant’s ½ pound burger and free fries are amazing, and I will be stopping by for a meal as soon as possible.

Full disclosure: I’ve been a chicken liver lover for decades. Burger Boys has some of the best I’ve ever eaten, and my first order will be a hot plate full. And, Bryant was the one who got me to try them with hot sauce at his former location.

I sat down with Andre last week to talk about his pathway to today’s opening, tour the restaurant and honestly, covet some liver, collard greens, and sweet potato pie.

“If Dave did it, I can do it!”

Bryant started at a Wendy’s in Columbus, Ohio as a 15 year old and “went all the way up the ladder,” eventually becoming a house trainer in New York. He said he worked under some of the best managers at Wendy’s to learn the business. We didn’t even discuss how his restaurant is even more full circle, as Wendy’s founder Dave Thomas learned the business working at Knoxville’s Regas Restaurant in 1944. Alan captured this picture of Regas back in 2013.

Bryant started at a Columbus, Ohio Wendy’s as a 15 year old and then “went all the way up the ladder,” eventually becoming a house trainer in New York. He said he worked under some of the best managers at Wendy’s to learn the business. We didn’t even discuss how Bryant’s Knoxville restaurants are an even fuller circle, as Wendy’s founder Dave Thomas learned the restaurant business working at Knoxville’s Regas Restaurant in 1944.

Thomas returned to the business as the face of Wendy’s, and Bryant met him on several occasions. Bryant said “Over the years…I started understanding the numbers and understanding the franchise model,” adding that he “just wanted to learn every aspect of the business and always thought man, if Dave did it, I can do it.”  

I asked how he transitioned to his own restaurant. Bryant said he “just always knew I could cook. You know, my mom was a great, great cook, and I used to help her out all the time and look at her recipes and help her in the kitchen around holidays. So, I knew I had a better product.”

For a time, he tried a beer and wine drive-thru and a nightclub, but eventually realized he “didn’t want to be involved with liquor anymore.”

He returned to food.

In February 2001, he opened Buckeye Fried Chicken in Columbus, Ohio, adding he “started in the dirt and built the 3400-square-foot building.” A news article from the time hangs in the dining area. Bryant said he was making $40,000 a week in the restaurant, but after the events of September 2001, sales went flat. 

He learned to pivot and find a niche from that experience that he carried into Burger Boys.

Lying in bed one night, he had an idea to make everything on the menu just one dollar (you can see it on the menu in the picture). He told his wife and she responded, “boy, you crazy.” He told her “We got to get ahead in the game. I’m not a franchise. I can create something and go with it. I ain’t got to call corporate. I am corporate.”

The pivot worked and sales went right back up.

Then, a series of tragedies struck. Bryant lost his wife in 2003 and then his son, little Dre, was struck by a car in New York in 2010.

He started to buy several cars and houses while processing his grief. He said, “the whole deck of cards fell apart. But that’s how I was just dealing with it.” He then opted to take a break from the business and began to work at Y-12, which brought him to Knoxville.

“I just came back to what I was founded on…”

Traveling between East Tennessee and Albequerque, New Mexico, Bryant became tired of a transient work life. He said, “I had saved enough money and met a young lady here. I said, man, I’m tired of it. That’s all I’ve been doing all my life is moving, traveling.” He explained, “I was riding around one day, and I seen that spot up on Chapman. I said, man, that would be a good spot for me to start all over again.” He was able to save up money from all of the overtime and per diems at Y-12 and made the jump.

Burger Boys was born: “I just came back to what I was founded on. I did the chicken thing, and I had great success at it, but I just wanted to come back and do my burgers.”

Timing was critical. He worked on leasing the building before Kern’s Food Hall opened, and the Henley Street Bridge reconstruction was beginning to wrap up. He opened right as the bridge work finished and benefitted from car traffic pouring across the bridge after the three year closure. The drive-thru model worked as he only had one employee at a time.

He offered a 1/2 pound burger with high quality meat that is fresh (refrigerated with no frozen beef) and a menu of sides. He will continue to offer fresh meat burgers at his new location. At the South Knoxville location, Bryan also found his niche to offer value to his customers: free fries.  He said, “When I first came up with this concept, potatoes was dirt cheap.” He could add the side at little cost and provide customers with a meal at a reasonable price.

The Chapman Highway location did well until the pandemic when most dining shut down. Bryant said that his drive-thru only business was perfectly placed to handle the new operating conditions. Burger Boys actually got busier, and his sales went up. I drove through to get a burger or livers on a near-weekly basis during the shutdown era.

Then, Kern’s Food Hall came about and the need to have a new entrance arose. After some negotiating, Bryant decided to close his spot and opted to take a break, building some homes for the past several months. The new entrance opened in the last few months, and as a side note, I am hoping a future streetscaping project will include adding a turn signal to the intersection. The new entrance has made the spot so much safer, and a turn light into the lot would help that even further.

“It’s really full circle, coming back home…”

Burger Boys will use a classic Wendy’s layout with some cafe-style flourishes. Bryant told me, “I’m working those same floors as when I was 15 years old, that same floor plan. So it’s it’s really full circle coming back home.”

The former Wendy’s location was under consideration by several large chains. A month after opting to not pursue the location, Bryant received an email from the owners on a Saturday night. He said that the owners had researched him and told him, “we believe you can get it done.” He asked to sleep on it, and when he was called the next morning, he said, “I’ll give it a shot. I said, ‘I don’t know how.'”

His houses weren’t selling, so he decided to get creative with financing. He began offering customers a chance to buy a gift card. Twenty five dollars given, fifty dollar gift card in return. He said, “And it just took off.” Bryant showed me the wall space that a board of contributors will be installed on.  He emphasized that this Burger Boys is “built by the community.”

At the new location, Bryant said the only major differences will be the number of employees and the ability to dine in. “Everything else stays the same. Quality of product. Great pricing. Great service. Clean restaurant.” 

A new small space with a television, fireplace, and cafe style seats will be available for customers wanting to have short meetings, “something different where it’s comfortable; it’s inviting.” He emphasized that the space will not be for loitering. The remainder of the space will feature mostly regular dining tables with one high-top area. 

The new drive-thru has much more capacity and the parking lot, which was being resurfaced while I was completing this interview, will feature multiple parking locations, a feature that South Knoxville had very little of.

Bryant added that the central location of the new Burger Boys will benefit customers. He added that “you ain’t going to beat that Chapman Highway traffic.” Customers would drive out of their way to the Chapman location; however, he expects the Broadway location to make it easier for existing customers to get to him from 640 and downtown. The North Knoxville community will support the restaurant.

I expect that traffic for the opening weeks to be massive. In response, Andre said, “I don’t look at the back of the line,” emphasizing the importance of serving the customer who is with you. Andre is excited to get “acquainted back with my customers, meeting new people. You know, I’m a people person.”

Burger Boys’ menu will mostly be the same at the Chapman location with the exception of chicken and fish. Bryant simplified the menu to provide quicker service to customers.  He also will “be doing some different stuff on Sundays like meatloaf and turkey. I got them for people on Sunday at church.” 

The kitchen area is refreshed with all-new ovens, a walk-in freezer and prep areas. He focused on these critical priorities for the restaurant, noting that the roadside sign faces will be coming soon.

Burger Boys will be open seven days a week. Monday through Saturday hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. I am beyond thrilled that Burger Boys is back in town. From a South Knoxvillian, congratulations to the North Knoxville community for landing Burger Boys. My day job is just down the street, and I am excited to go pick up lunch or dinner at Andre’s place.

Burger Boys Information: Website || Facebook

Urban Outposts is a series highlighting local businesses around the city of Knoxville. You can help us spotlight restaurants and shops in your area. Have an “urban outpost” suggestion? Leave it in the comments or email the editor at [email protected]. Read previous editions here.