Greensboro "Good" Burger=BEEF BURGER

    

Located at 1040 West Lee Street in Greensboro is a hole in the wall restaurant that has become a staple for the landscape of the city as well as to college students and native Greensborians alike. Beef Burger IS that joint and it is as loved to those that have taken one savory bite, as cheese and Brats are to the people of Green Bay. 

Owned and operated by Mr. Ralph Havis and his Wife the restaurant has enjoyed it's place in the same lot for more than 50 years. Ralph and his Wife are the sole Owners and Operators and do it all with a touch of love that makes you want to come back just to chat with them, let to mention for the food. Ralph told me that he is in the restaurant typically to run the night shift, 10am-11pm every day as he has been for the last 49 years. Starting in the restaurant Ralph began the job as an 18 year old for a very Christian man who told him that if he would stay with him he would have the first chance to buy the restaurant when he was ready to retire from the business. Said Havis, "I really didn't want to be in the restaurant or cooking business because at that time I felt like it was "sissy" work! But as I got more involved in it and met the customers and learned the financial aspects of the business I got more into it and I liked it!" Ten years later Havis found himself Owner of the restaurant!

Havis said that his intention when he and his wife took over the restaurant was to focus more on the burger and that point of distinction hasn't changed. Ground beef patties are made by hand and placed on an original antique broiler that sends the patties around over a flame that cooks the burger fully all the while dripping the oil into the bottom of the broiler. Once cooked the burgers are pulled and then the magic happens!! Based on a secret recipe that Havis and his wife constructed, there is a full pot of tangy-sweet bar-b-que sauce that the burger is dipped in and then placed onto the steamed bun, along with whatever fixings such as onions, cheese, pickles, and the likes to complete what is THE BEEF BURGER!

After suffering a much heartfelt loss of their one and only daughter, Tammy Havis to Lupus 14 years ago, the Havis-Husband-Wife team threw themselves into their restaurant and haven't looked back. "The restaurant allows us to salvage some of the pain of losing Tammy!" stated Ralph. Working closely with a staff of three, Amber, Gracie and Derrick, the Beef Burger staff is a close knit one and are extremely respectful of Mr. & Mrs. Havis. When I asked Amber how she liked working for and how she felt about Ralph, she pushed her glasses up on her nose a bit, looked at me and said "He's allright!! NO..NO, seriously he is such a sweet man that I couldn't imagine working anywhere else! He is a GREAT guy!" Showing the proof is in the pudding of that statement is the fact that Amber has been working for Havis since she was 15 years old as a summer job, much like Havis, and decided to stay! Maybe she is already planting the seeds for the 3rd generation of owner for the Beef Burger Family.

I asked Ralph what he does when he isn't serving UNCG students, Greensboro businessmen/women, truck drivers and children eager for their first taste of The Beef Burger goodness and he said "I sleep when I am not here! Running around and serving all my customers kinda makes this 68 year old battery run down and I need to recharge!". Go in and see him and you will go back every time you crave a burger and fries. And do not forget that Mr. Havis has added such new staples as Mac-n-Cheese Bites and the scrumptious Crab Cake Burger (so moist and tender you better buy two). Standing behind the counter, hands resting on the register as he takes order after order and in front of a sharply pressed Greensboro Police Department uniform is the presence of the man in the blue apron, Mr. Ralph Havis. You cant mistake the smile for anyone else so you will feel like you know him the minute you step in the front door.

BEEF BURGER1040 West Lee Street
Greensboro, NC 27403
(336) 272-7505