There’s a new burger joint in downtown San Jose with prices so cheap that even the hungriest college student will be satisfied.
Located a block from San Jose State University, Campus Burgers will no doubt be a magnet for students looking for a quick, inexpensive lunch or dinner. And the demand is there: The restaurant served more than 1,000 free hamburgers to a long line of prospective customers on its opening day last month.
Owner Jim Angelopoulos has the restaurant business in his blood. One of his proudest moments was when he worked his first 24-hour shift as a 10-year-old at his parents’ truck stop diner in San Martin, the Square Meal Cafe.
“We lived in the Rose (Garden) District of San Jose,” he told San José Spotlight, “and I took the Greyhound bus every day after school. All I remember is peeling sacks and sacks of potatoes, hundred-pound sacks of potatoes, one after the other.”
Angelopoulos’ parents, Bill and Barbara, came from Greece in 1968, when Jim was six years old. They opened their cafe in 1972, and Jim worked there until he left to attend San Jose State University.
“Knowing my parents had a language barrier, I dropped out of school,” he said. “That’s basically how I got into the business and have opened about 10 different restaurants since then.”
Scrambl’z in Morgan Hill is perhaps Angelopoulos’ best-known restaurant. It was a family breakfast and lunch spot famous in the area for its 32-ounce ice cream sundaes, free popcorn at every table and free Bazooka gum after meals.
Angelopoulos ran the company, founded in 2004, for ten years before resurrecting it under the name “Yolked” and selling it five years ago to follow a dream sparked by a film.
“I wanted more simplicity,” he said. “The idea for Campus Burgers came to me when I saw ‘The Founder,’ a movie about Ray Kroc and McDonald’s. I saw it about three times and it made me want to create something affordable for every family.”
Angelopoulos began to calculate how inexpensively he could make a burger and still offer good value for money.
“It came down to $1.99,” he said. “That’s a hell of a lot, but you can see how much people appreciate it, and that’s what I love – watching the customers and hearing their comments.”
At Campus Burgers, everything is stripped down to the essentials, with a focus on economic rather than culinary value. The menu is deliberately limited to a handful of dishes: single or double hamburgers, single or double cheeseburgers, French fries made from fresh-cut Kennebec potatoes, and sodas.
The burgers come with one to four 2-ounce patties, cooked onions, pickles, and a homemade chipotle sauce; lettuce and tomatoes are not available.
Although customers can order their burgers plain, the business model is based on quantity and a low price and leaves no room for further modifications.
“There are a lot of things that slow things down in the kitchen,” he said. “Things like, ‘I don’t want onions, I don’t want pickles, I don’t want sauce and pickles, I don’t want onions and pickles.’ I want to keep our customers happy, but it’s hurting us. To do that, service has to be fast.”
Angelopoulos said he wanted Campus Burgers to be the opposite of the full-service restaurants he used to own. The system would be easily duplicated and would allow an employee to learn any task in 10 minutes.
Customer Gerdain Chavarria tried Campus Burgers for the first time on the advice of a friend and said that the burger did not disappoint him considering the price.
“It may not taste as good as other places,” he told San José Spotlight, “but you pay what it’s worth. It tastes like it’s really well made, and the price is incredible — honestly, much better than Five Guys.”
Angelopoulos’ goal with Campus Burgers is not only to provide students with fast, affordable food. He hopes the almost automated nature of the business will also give him time for another hobby: marathon running.
“I’m getting older,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed running since high school and have completed over 20 marathons. I want to get back into it and do something other than work 15 hours a day.”
Contact Robert Eliason at (email protected).
Editor’s Note: The Biz Beat is a series highlighting local small businesses and restaurants in Silicon Valley. Know of a business you’d like to see featured? Let us know at (email protected).
