Causwells Plots Global Burger Domination With Mission Pop-Up

The Causwells burger

Inspired by the Shake Shack IPO, among other things, front-of-house vet Alvin Garcia is hoping to slowly build a major entity around the patty at his hit Marina restaurant, Causwells, which regularly sells out by 8 p.m., even on weeknights. Enter: Burger, a hamburger-focused pop-up event that Garcia wants to grow into a brick-and-mortar business. Causwells' chef, Adam Rosenblum, is joining Garcia as chef-partner.

In proper upscale, fast-casual form, Burger will charge $6 for a single patty, $8 for a double. "It is really a smaller, less expensive version of the Causwells burger," explains Garcia. Burger uses the same meat source, Five Dot Ranch, although the beef cuts are slightly different. Petits Pains & Co. is making a custom bun to match. The Burger menu also includes milkshakes and fries, in regular or duck-fat versions.

"Super Duper came out with a beautiful package and refined it over the years," said Garcia. "And Shake Shack has been all about volume since the beginning. We want to be somewhere in between, with organic growth." He adds that the business is in fundraising mode right now, and the name will probably change at some point.

For now, Burger will pop up monthly at the new Buffalo Club on Mission Street. Its first event will go down Monday, March 16, from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. Buffalo Club bartender Lianne Segar will create a special five-item cocktail list to match.

There's also a charitable element: Rosenblum's team will cook any leftover burgers for Glide. If the pop-up sells out, Burger will use a portion of its profits to buy more meat to make this happen.

Garcia and Rosenblum are also looking into other venues, in addition to Buffalo Club. Watch Facebook for updates.