ST. CHARLES – For The Burger Shop owner Marshall McCarty, less is more.
As its name implies, the restaurant – which recently opened at 2704 E. Main St. in St. Charles in the Foxfield Commons shopping center – sells burgers and not much else.
"This business is difficult enough as it is that we wanted to keep the products that we offer to a few simple things that people enjoy – a good burger with quality ingredients along with shakes and fries," McCarty said. "These are all things that people really enjoy. For us, the challenge of this style of business is to deliver a quality product every time."
This is The Burger Shop's second location and the second restaurant that McCarty has opened during the pandemic. In April, The Burger Shop opened at 17 N. 4th St. in Geneva.
McCarty lives in Geneva with his wife, Laura, and their five-year-old son, Lincoln.
"The first time around, we just happened to be ready to go," McCarty said. "We actually were planning on opening in early March, but the pandemic put us on hold."
Both restaurants are currently open for takeout and curbside pickup. The current COVID-19 mitigations prohibit indoor dining.
He is making the best of the situation.
"This concept kind of lends itself to pickup and takeout," McCarty said. "And that's been working really well."
The Burger Shop also uses third-party delivery services and eventually hopes to offer its own delivery service.
McCarty has extensive experience in the restaurant industry. In 2018, he opened The Walrus Room in Geneva.
The restaurant is billed as "a supper club of sorts." McCarty also serves as the restaurant's executive chef.
He opened The Walrus Room after serving as the executive chef of Nobel House in Geneva for several years. Although The Burger Shop's menu isn't as extensive as The Walrus Room's menu, there are still challenges.
"There are a whole lot of challenges in making sure that the fries are hot every time you get them and the burger is prepared the way you want it every time and has the right amount of mayonnaise and the right amount of ingredients," McCarty said. "Attending to all these little details honestly is as fulfilling as doing all the other things in that other style of business."
One of those details involves using peanut oil to fry the fries at The Burger Shop.
"It just works really well with the fries and fried items in general," he said. "The other vegetable oils are more neutral and the flavor just isn't the same."
McCarty knows there is no shortage of restaurants in the Fox Valley that sell burgers. He also knows other restaurants offer more of a variety of burgers.
But he is proud of what The Burger Shop has to offer.
"I think the quality of our ingredients sets us apart," he said. "People that are just seeking a quality tasty burger, we wanted to get really good at that. And that's why we kind of decided to offer what we offer. We are bringing kind of a higher quality and really tasty product to the marketplace."
For those looking for a meatless option, The Burger Shop also sells a vegetarian burger.
"We use the Beyond Meat burger," McCarty said. "You can have a completely vegan burger experience. We also have vegan cheese and vegan mayonnaise and a vegan bun."
The vegan burgers are cooked on different grills than the other burgers.
"So there's no cross contact with any meat surfaces," he said.
The Burger Shop opens daily at 11 a.m. More information is available at its website, theburgershopstc.com.