Order up! Some of Louisville's top burger joints talk COVID-19 realities during Burger Week

Lennie Omalza
Special to Courier Journal

I’m not sure if it’s cookware, ingredients, or the simple fact that biting into a juicy burger at a local eatery evokes a sense of nostalgia but burgers always seem to taste better when they’re fresh from a restaurant.

In honor of Louisville Burger Week this week, I spoke to the owners and operators of three burger joints around the city: Game, the rustic eatery that specializes in exotic wild meats; 80/20 @ Kaelin’s, which claims to be the birthplace of the cheeseburger; and Grind Burger Kitchen, where Guy Fieri once ate on “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.” From adding delivery options to creating new outdoor seating areas, these eateries have adapted to adhere to constantly changing restaurant restrictions and social distancing practices to keep customers safe during the coronavirus pandemic.

“We are all for anything that can help the country and the world beat this epidemic and get back to normal,” said Tim Lewis of Game.

Game

2295 Lexington Road, 502-618-1712, wildgameburgers.com, Current services: dine-in, carryout, and delivery; 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday; closed Sundays

Frog Legs w/Jalapeno Tartar Sauce and a Alpaca Burger at Game restaurant in Louisville.

How are you? How is your team?

Tim Lewis: We are hanging in there! Funny story — I purchased the restaurant on March 16, about 45 minutes prior to the shutdown. It has been one challenge after another with the COVID-19 epidemic; closing dine-in, curfews, protests, etc. But honestly, I am happier than I have ever been in my professional career. My background is managing food service for stadiums and arenas around the country and feeding massive amounts of fans. Going from that to owning and cooking at Game Restaurant, a place that has such a great following and the best customers ... is a lifelong dream come true.

My team has been great at dealing with the restrictions and the uncertainty of business. They truly enjoy putting love into our food and service.

Did you offer carryout/delivery before? Have you reopened for in-person dining? How have these experiences been for your team?

Scotch Eggs w/ Smoked Pork Belly at Game restaurant in Louisville.

Lewis: We’ve reopened for in-person dining, following all the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and government regulations. We have responded to the challenges in a positive manner; we updated our indoor/outdoor Hunter’s Lodge and introduced our new Moose Yard Patio with daily drink specials to offer a better experience for our patrons who desire and enjoy dining outside.

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Has the response to carryout/delivery and/or in-person dining been better or worse than you hoped? Will you continue going forward?

Lewis: We see carryout and delivery trends rise and fall with the daily news updates on the virus. As folks feel safer to dine-in, we do more in-house service; since restrictions limit the number of patrons we can serve, carryout and delivery orders rise while in-house dining slips. We encourage all customers to use our own online carryout service found on our webpage, due to the percentage of sales the delivery services charge us. When things go back to normal, we will continue the online ordering through our site, but will more than likely cancel the outside delivery services we use now.

What do you hope the Louisville community takes away from this experience when it comes to the restaurant industry?

Veggie Portabella Burger w/ Roasted Beet Tartar Sauce at Game restaurant in Louisville.

Lewis: I hope everyone learns what I have seen and witnessed since this began. The Louisville dining scene is as good as anywhere in the country and the entire industry in our city is filled with an incredible family of people who truly care for each other and the people who eat at our restaurants.

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How has the limited restaurant capacity impacted you and your team?

Lewis: It’s another challenge for us, but we are all for anything that can help the country and the world beat this epidemic and get back to normal.

80/20 @ Kaelin’s

1801 Newburg Road, 502-200-8020, 8020atkaelins.com, Current services: Dine-in, 3-10 p.m.; and carryout and delivery, noon to 10 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday. Closed Mondays.

Cookout Burger at 80/20 at Kaelin’s in Louisville.

How are you? How is your team?

Lee Foresman: I am doing well, considering the ever-changing landscape in which we operate. My team is healthy and safe, and they have done a tremendous job to help us go beyond the standard guidelines to create and maintain a safe environment for guests. Most of the team has been with us throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and working through this has really created a strong bond between all of us.

Did you offer carryout/delivery before? Have you reopened for in-person dining? How have these experiences been for your team? 

Foresman: We never stopped taking care of our guests. We did carryout and delivery services until we reopened to in-person dining at the end of May. Our customers have been very appreciative of us throughout the entire process, which makes it extremely rewarding for the staff. We have always followed the guidelines set by the state, and for the most part, the customers have been understanding and accepting of them.

Customer reviews have been extremely positive. Most people comment on the proper social-distancing guidelines we follow and said they felt safe when dining with us. Those are the best comments we can have right now.

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Has the response to carryout/delivery and/or in-person dining been better or worse than you hoped? Will you continue going forward?

Fried Pickles at 80/20 at Kaelin’s in Louisville.

Foresman: We have completely revamped our carryout/delivery system and have transformed our Malt Shoppe into a carryout/delivery area. We also started working with DoorDash and Grubhub for delivery services and introduced an online ordering system through TOAST Takeout. For any restaurant to survive moving forward, they need to concentrate on carryout and delivery services. Our carryout/ delivery sales have been 40% of our total revenue since in-person dining resumed, with the number increasing weekly.

We also have the luxury of having a large patio, which has helped us. There is enough space between tables to practice social distancing and the patio is large enough that generally there is not a wait time to sit outside. We have also followed the guidelines inside the restaurant and allow seating indoors, but most in-person dining sales have come from the patio.

What do you hope the Louisville community takes away from this experience when it comes to the restaurant industry?

Foresman: The local restaurant community is strong and filled with amazing leaders. I would take this community of talented individuals against any other city in the country. After this is over, I would love to see the local government really focus on the local restaurants by showcasing them more in business opportunities.

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How has the limited restaurant capacity impacted you and your team?

A milk shake at 80/20 at Kaelin’s in Louisville.

Foresman: If it is something we need to do to move forward, I am fine with it for a short amount of time. The issue is balancing safety and people’s livelihoods. There are a lot of people in the industry that cannot handle another shutdown. I do believe the mask mandate will be more impactful than the reduction in capacity in the long run, and we take that and the other guidelines very seriously. We took a slight reduction in revenue from the loss of in-person dining during the first week, but luckily carryout/delivery sales made up for it.

Grind Burger Kitchen

829 E. Market St., Suite C, 502-213-0277, grindburgerkitchen.com, Current services: dine-in and carryout; 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday; closed Sundays

The Southern burger at Grind Burger Kitchen in Louisville's NuLu neighborhood features sharp cheddar pimento cheese, bacon and pickles.

How are you? How is your team?

Jesse Huot: Overall, we’re a little better than expected. It's obviously been difficult to maneuver with all the changes that have been happening, but our team has been great about keeping up the positive attitudes and flexibility to those changes.

Did you offer carryout/delivery before? Have you reopened for in-person dining? How have these experiences been for your team?

The Grind burger at Grind Burger Kitchen in Louisville's NuLu neighborhood is traditional, featuring lettuce, tomato, onion and your choice of cheese.

Huot: We've always had a healthy takeout business. Delivery was new but didn't take off. I think it’s because people are looking for any reason to get out of the house — even if it's only to get in the car, get handed bags of food, and go back home. I also think that consumers have been relying on third-party delivery services. We're not on any of them because most people don't realize that it's a bad deal for restaurants. Depending on the company, they take 10% to as high as 25%. It's somewhere between opportunistic and predatory. I just have a hard time accepting that. We have opened for dine-in at 25%, but even if we could open at 100%, I believe only about 30% of people are comfortable dining in.

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Has the response to carryout/delivery and/or in-person dining been better or worse than you hoped? Will you continue going forward?

Huot: I think all of it has been as we predicted. We have been watching other cities very closely to get an idea of what to expect.

What do you hope the Louisville community takes away from this experience when it comes to the restaurant industry?

The Chain burger at Grind Burger Kitchen in Louisville's NuLu neighborhood is served with spicy dill pickles, smoked ketchup, yellow mustard and onions.

Huot: Louisville has always supported its local restaurants. It's the reason we're still open and surviving. I hope going forward, they recognize how fragile the industry is and how many people depend on it for their livelihoods.

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How has the limited restaurant capacity impacted you and your team?

Huot: 25% felt a little more accurate as far as the reality of how many seats are being filled. [Gov. Andy Beshear] can pull any number out of the sky — it doesn't mean that many people are comfortable yet. Additionally, with the 6-foot rule, we couldn't really fit many more tables if we wanted to regardless.

Given the evolving nature of the coronavirus pandemic, our weekly restaurant review column's focus will shift for the foreseeable future. Each week, Lennie Omalza will ask the same questions of three restaurants that are fighting to adapt and survive while serving our community. Please send coverage suggestions to Lifestyle Editor Kathryn Gregory at kgregory@courier-journal.com.