Two men and a burger
Burgersmith is moooooving - more accurately expanding - its handcrafted USDA prime beef burgers with all the fixings to a new location in Baton Rouge. The company's prototype restaurant, which opened on Camellia Boulevard in River Ranch about a year ago, was so well received by Acadiana that owners Denny Hensgens and Russ Umbricht were encouraged to branch out.
**
Russ Umbricht and Denny Hensgens are expanding
their homegrown burger concept, Burgersmith, to
Baton Rouge.
Two men and a burger**
Burgersmith is moooooving - more accurately expanding - its handcrafted USDA prime beef burgers with all the fixings to a new location in Baton Rouge. The company's prototype restaurant, which opened on Camellia Boulevard in River Ranch about a year ago, was so well received by Acadiana that owners Denny Hensgens and Russ Umbricht were encouraged to branch out.
"We were just looking to grow the concept, and Baton Rouge seemed like the next logical step," says Umbricht.
The lease on the new property, a space in the Acadian-Perkins Plaza shopping center, is not finalized, says Umbricht. The location is not far from the LSU campus, and Umbricht hopes its proximity draws students.
"We like the demographic, and we think it will be good for our burger concept," he says. "There also aren't a ton of restaurants on that strip, so we hope it can be good for the students."
The new location will stay true to the roots of the company, with Louisiana flavors and a focus on hand-crafted, high quality products. All of the menu items patrons love will carry over, but when it comes to layout and design, Umbricht says the location will focus more on beer. The Capital City restaurant will have a bar and a separate entrance so that carry-out customers can pick up their orders faster.
Umbricht and Hensgens hope to move forward any day now renovating the space and expanding the home-grown Burgersmith concept.
"We're excited about entering a new market and getting more people to experience what we offer," says Umbricht. -Hope Rurik