Today we’d like to introduce you to Greg Garvey.
Jake Keller, of North Texas’ First Family of Hamburgers, with restaurants dating back to 1965, opened the first Jakes in 1985. Greg has owned and operated Jakes since 2003, growing the brand to 9 locations with more to come. Jakes is a true Texas tradition boasting the best old-fashioned burgers on the planet. Their commitment to locally sourced fresh beef, freshly baked buns and hand-cut fries coupled with an amazing team of people creates dining experience like no other. They are proud to have some of the best patios in DFW and a virtual cornucopia of high definition TV’s showing all of your favorite teams. They have the best weekday happy hour in the business and are proud to serve as “Your Hangover Headquarters” with all day weekend happy hours. In short, you know when you go out of town to visit a good friend and they take you to a great local hangout where the food is great and the vibe is relaxed, fun and exciting? Yeah, that’s Jakes! They’re kind of like your favorite pair of jeans…. They fit perfectly and allow you to be yourself.
THEIR CAUSE: At Jakes, they wake every day on fire to serve their guests the best damn old-fashioned burger on the planet. Hand-cut fries, freshly-baked buns and locally sourced never-frozen meat make people happy! They make people happy!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Of course there have been challenges along the way. The economy, changing real estate landscape, competition and job market have all posed significant challenges along the way. Our industry, in general, struggles with staffing and keeping great people which we all know are your biggest asset. We have committed to putting our employees first. We have created and continue to nurture a culture of making people happy. It starts with your team and creating a place where they love to be and know that we appreciate their contribution to the business. They are the single most important ingredient to ensure your long term success. They need to feel that important. We empower our management teams to do what they need to do for our team and our guests and it shows with a tribe of long-term employees and committed, loyal and sometimes daily guests!
Jakes Burgers and Beer – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
As we discussed, in the age of burger oversaturation, we have stayed true to our hamburger roots. You will find no pine nuts or truffle oil here, we simply serve the BEST old-fashioned burger on the planet with the freshest ingredients around. We are known for our cheddar fries, our juicy and cheesy double meat patties snuggled up in our famous, freshly baked poppy seed buns. What most folks don’t realize is we have one of the best breakfasts/brunches around! Some of our locations serve breakfast daily and others just brunch on the weekend, but I would put our breakfast burger, hangover hash or chicken fried steak and eggs up against anyone. We have some new favorites creating quite a buzz…guests can now enjoy our giant cinnamon roll with crumbled bacon on top! We call it Jakes Cinnapig!
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
My proudest moment would probably have to be being named the bar manager at the original Black-eyed Pea on Cedar Springs at the age of 18 and here I am….42 years later still going strong.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jakesburgersandbeer.com
- Email: jakescares@jakesburgersandbeer.com
- Instagram: jakesburgersandbeer
- Facebook: @jakesuptown
- Twitter: @jakesburgers
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
