Jane’s Seven Burgers Serving up Fresh, Quality Fare in Oromocto
OROMOCTO – Youngjoo Lee worked in the restaurant business for five years before she decided to make a go of it on her own and establish Jane’s Seven Burgers, a gourmet burger joint that’s becoming an Oromocto hit.
Lee, who sometimes goes by her English/Canadian name Jane, says her partner in both work and life, David Foss, was the one to give her the final push to go after the restaurant she’d been wanting for a while when a space opened up in a building he owned on Restigouche Road in Oromocto.
Jane’s Seven Burgers will soon be partnering with Foss’s craft brewery located upstairs, Johnny Jacks, to serve two things Lee says go perfectly together: burgers and beer.
We chatted with Lee and Foss to see how business has been going since the burger joint opened in December and what sort of hopes Lee has for the future.
Why did you want to have your own restaurant?
Lee: I worked in a restaurant for five years in Fredericton, at St. Hubert. I wanted to have my own business and my boyfriend encouraged me to start a restaurant. I made the decision to open a restaurant so he and I built this space together for six months. It was very challenging for me but he was there to encourage me. He said, “Young, you can do it.” It was the first time I’ve done business.
Foss: It’s challenging to open a business. There are so many different things and the regulations so for a first-timer it’s very difficult.
Lee: I’m now 51 years old and everyone said I was too old to start a business. But I was thinking “what is my future?” So I thought “I could work in the restaurant as an employee or do business as an owner and it’ll be a new challenge. Maybe it will be not good or maybe it will be good.” But I want to do new things I care about, challenges. Finally, I opened the restaurant on December 13. Nobody knew that I opened here. I [originally] wanted to open a cafe in Fredericton last year but we had trouble with getting a space. So [David] suggested this space because he’s the owner of this building. He said, “Young, there’s some space you can go see and if you like it, you can open a restaurant.” I wanted to open a cafe but in Oromocto it’s a bit harder to open a cafe I think so I changed the menu to burgers. I liked this space so [David] and I said we’ll build everything together. [We did] the painting and the tables we made together.
How have things been going so far?
Lee: When I opened in December, December is a very hard month so not everyone knew [about it], but it’s getting better and so far everyone likes my burgers. I’m so happy when everyone says “your burgers are so good. I’ll be back.” I make everything homemade, even the sauce and homemade basic patty. I tried to make a good burger. One thing I like about customers coming is that they’re happy to eat my burgers. That is why I wanted to open a restaurant.
What kind of customers do you get in here?
Lee: Many of them are people working [around] here and military [members] especially from the base. Even now many people don’t know that I opened, it’s word-of-mouth.
Foss: Yeah, you haven’t done much marketing at all. It’s really just people in the community saying “wow it’s a great burger.”
What sort of experience do you hope people have here?
Lee: I just want everybody to come and enjoy the space. It’s very simple but I like that.
Foss: (to Lee) You really enjoy when families come with children because you love children.
Lee: Especially kids who are coming. They like my burger and the space.
Foss: (to Lee) You said there was a child here yesterday. What did he say?
Lee: He said, “your burger is much better than McDonald’s.” My favourite is the grilled chicken burger. I’m using very fresh chicken breast and the topping is very good … With any burger, I try to make a good burger because if everyone is happy, I’m happy.
What’s in the works now?
Lee: We’re going to [serve] the beer here [as of] April 1. So everyone can come and try Jonny Jacks, especially the IPA. It’s so good. It’s my favourite. With my burger, it’s a good combination … I want everyone to come here and feel comfortable, we’re very friendly.