This Burger Joint Isn’t Too Cool for School

Now that every Tom, Dick and Harry (or at least, every Laurent, Govind and Bobby)
has his own upscale burger joint, it’s rare that a new burger-themed restaurant really catches my eye.

Yet I’m intrigued by Burger Studio, a recently launched concept created by – here’s the unexpected punch line – Aramark Higher Education, a division of the Philadelphia-based contract-foodservice giant.

When it came time to do the market research, instead of just looking at the legions of burger bars opening at breakneck speed around the country, Aramark executives went straight to their target demographic – students – right where they live: online.

Through Internet focus groups and chat rooms, the company garnered valuable feedback on everything from restaurant design (which includes green touches such as bamboo countertops and energy-efficient lighting) to staff uniforms (organic cotton t-shirts, painter’s hats and jeans) to the menu (which includes veggie burgers and chicken sandwiches to satisfy students’ demand for more-healthful options).

Based partly on the student feedback, the company also decided, as Aramark spokesperson Karen Cutler puts it, “to bring the technology they’re already using into dining hall.” It’s this move that, in my mind, makes the concept especially notable.

Students use touch-screen ordering kiosks (now seeing growing popularity in key areas of foodservice) to visually design their own burgers with more than 30 toppings, cheeses and special sauces. Once a customer places his order, he gets a receipt with a barcode to bring to the cashier, who scans it and finishes the transaction.

So not only does Burger Studio wrap an impressive number of up-to-the-minute foodservice trends – dressed up burgers (toppings range from guacamole to fried eggs), value (combos with fries and a drink cost $5.29), healthful dining and green operations – into one package, but it embraces the world of technology as well.

Now, if Aramark really wanted to be ahead of the curve, the next step is obvious: a Burger Studio mobile app, of course!