Burger time: Food festival brings booming business to Moncton restaurant industry
It's been a very busy week at Cheers Beverage Room in Moncton.
Hundreds of patties have been slapped on the grill and served up for the fifth annual Moncton Burger Festival.
With close to 50 restaurants participating this year and 47 different burgers available, the beef bonanza is bigger than ever.
"It's something amazing," said Jennifer Somers, co-owner of Cheers. "It's something spectacular where the whole community comes together and they just thrive on burgers for 17 days. It's so awesome. It brings new people in, it brings regulars in, they're excited for the new burgers that people are putting out."
Festival organizer and Tide & Boar owner Chad Steeves started it all as way for eateries in town to make extra money during the slowest time of the year for the industry.
His inspiration came from seeing other cities in the Maritimes holding similar festivals.
The secret to the festival's success is a great meal, a good time with friends, and something pretty simple.
"You know, it's the old school advertising," said Steeves. "You open up that burger map and you just sit there and you go 'whoa!' You see all these burgers all in one spot. People get really excited. Plus, burgers are one of the most popular foods in North America."
But it's not just a fun time for foodies. It also helps keep staff members busy and doors open during a bleak time of year.
Chamber of Commerce for Greater Moncton CEO John Wishart said it brings people out in the middle of winter.
"We heard of one restaurant that sold 200 burgers in the first day of the festival. So 200 burgers times 20 bucks a burger, that's $4,000 in the till in a single day. That's a huge difference," said Wishart.
Steeves said the festival even saved businesses during the pandemic when restaurants weren't allowed to have patrons inside, but could still do take-out.
"Those three weeks of the festival during the pandemic it was like, we weren't closed down, it was all to-go. It was a whole new sector to us. We were packed and slammed and giving people hours paying bills we weren't sure we were going to be able to pay," said Steeves.
Lunchtime customers at Cheers weighed in on what makes a good burger.
"The cheese, the bun, if it's all quality it's good," said Lawren Campbell. "But if you're gonna start to combine a bunch of stuff it's got to be the right blend of those flavours. A little bit of sweet with that savory."
Kenny McKeigan thinks it's the juiciness of the burger.
"The quality of the meat with the juice in the burger. That's what makes a good quality burger," said McKeigan.
Adam Craig said he prefers to keep it simple.
"Meat, cheese and a bun and if they're good enough it doesn't need anything else," said Craig.
Somers said it all starts with a good patty.
"You've got to have good meat. Good meat, good sauce, good bun and a little bit of a crunch," said Somers.
The Moncton Burger Festival runs until Jan. 28.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.