New burger joint joins local eatery options
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EUGENE, Ore. - There are plenty of burger joints in town, from the ubiquitous golden arches and burger royalty to locals like Giant Burger in Springfield and Dickie Jo's in Eugene.
You can find a burger and brew deal almost any day of the week, from The Highlands to Cornucopia, Izakaya Meiji to Cafe 440, to the Vintage and points inbetween.
Some chain restaurants have joined the fray, too, like Five Guys Burger and Fries.
Now Jake's Wayback Burgers has arrived in Oregon, a restaurant franchise from the East Coast with its first store on the West Coast in Eugene's Santa Clara neighborhood.
Monday was the grand opening.
"What's amazing about burgers is that they stick around," said Farhan Khan, owner of the new burger joint.
Even in a sluggish economy, Farhan is confident he's making a good business move by opening a Jake's Wayback Burgers.
"You look around, and with the economy doing so bad, these burger joints are doing really well," he said.
Burgers are considered fast food, but Khan said his product stands out.
"We are not McDonalds," he said. "We are a superior burger. We sell you a superior product. Our burgers are juicier, and then we have our fresh produce to go on it."
Hubby and I went there last night. We were had high hopes as he does business in the area and it'd be a convenient place to lunch. We arrived at 4:30'ish. It was quite loud inside. Music in the background and customer chitchat. They need some kind of sound buffering to make it more diner friendly. To be fair, they were getting a bit busy after we ordered, but it took over 30 minutes for our burgers to be ready. We ordered Jake's cheeseburgers. They were quite large and they were generous with the toppings. The burgers needed more seasoning and were too juicy/greasy for my taste. I'll stick with Cornucopia. I love their food and the staff at their 17th Ave location are wonderful.
 @ethicsmatter was the food really served on newsprint?
 @eugenenative It was a paper basket liner with a newsprint design. It reminded me of the old Wendy's Hamburger tables with newsprint. Sorry it took so long to reply ~ houseguests...
McMenamins, Little Big Burger, Cornucopia and Dickie Jo's use natural Oregon beef and are locally-owned Oregon businesses. There is no mention of where the beef comes from on Wayback's menu. Maybe they're "hand-made", but if the beef comes from another state (or country, for that matter)..... no thanks. Local is waaaayyyyy better and healthier. LBB also uses locally-grown Organic produce and good-quality buns and fries. If a burger joint is gonna "stand-out" in this community they're going to have to do better than LBB, IMHO. What this town REALLY needs is a decent burrito joint!Â
@eugenenative You should try El taco next to value village in Sprigfield.
We have amazing burger places. I just tried Little Big Burger yesterday and they have delicious fries. :) I'd like their burger best too if they had more condiment/topping options. I love that they use local, organic ingredients. But man, I still have to give it to 5 Guys... they have awesome burgers. :) I'll definitely be checking out the new place, especially since I live in Santa Clara.Â
Looks great! I'm all over it!