Teh One Who Knocks
02-13-2012, 05:33 PM
Written by Tara Bannow - Iowa City Press-Citizen
http://i.imgur.com/Muf6i.jpg
Greg Apel is confident in his burger.
So confident, in fact, that Apel, owner of Sam’s Steamed Caboose Burgers in the Old Capitol Town Center, has been swimming through the sea of red tape one must cross before starting a franchise.
“It’s unbelievable,” Apel said of the process.
But he’s sticking with it because he said he’s got the “best tasting burger in the United States.”
The burgers are steamed rather than grilled, which, Apel said, means they have fewer calories — 220 to be exact — than a regular burger and better flavor. Right now, the business only has one location, which opened in August 2011. Since the signs went up, they’ve been “breaking sales records every day,” Apel said.
Apel, who splits his time between living in Guttenberg and Iowa City, also tells people proudly that Miss Iowa and Hawkeye cheerleader Rebecca Hodge posted on her Facebook page that Sam’s is one of her favorite restaurants.
Sam’s also sells breakfast sandwiches — including a burger with an egg on top — potato cakes, fries and coffee roasted in Guttenberg. The name doesn’t mean anything special; Apel said he wanted some alliteration and Sam sounded like a good name.
Some have noticed the Caboose Burger truck that’s been driving around town. Apel said he plans to sell food out of it in the summer.
Growing up in Waterloo, Apel’s mom used to make him steamed burgers. But he said he couldn’t get them at any of the restaurants in town. Here in Iowa City, he said he’s still the only one who sells steamed burgers.
More than 20 people already have expressed interest in opening their own Sam’s location, Apel said. He said he’d like to start out in the southern states, but also has 22 locations he’d eventually like to see in Iowa. Right now, the company’s production capacity is nine restaurants per month, he said.
Manager Michael Wilson will be responsible for training future franchisees on the ways of Sam’s: cooking, running registers and cleaning.
A graduate of the California Culinary Academy in San Fransisco, Wilson has worked in his share of restaurants, but said he believes in the steamed burger.
“The nice thing about this concept is that it holds a lot of flavor in the burger,” he said. “As far as cooking goes, it’s an easy concept. You can make a really tasty burger with minimal effort and make a quality product again and again and again.”
The customer base is a mix — a lot of students, downtown workers and University of Iowa employees, Apel said.
Wilson recalls a student who had a burger last Saturday and equated it to a religious experience.
“Until you’ve actually had one, it’s sort of hard to explain,” he said. “The vast majority of people that come by come back.”
http://i.imgur.com/Muf6i.jpg
Greg Apel is confident in his burger.
So confident, in fact, that Apel, owner of Sam’s Steamed Caboose Burgers in the Old Capitol Town Center, has been swimming through the sea of red tape one must cross before starting a franchise.
“It’s unbelievable,” Apel said of the process.
But he’s sticking with it because he said he’s got the “best tasting burger in the United States.”
The burgers are steamed rather than grilled, which, Apel said, means they have fewer calories — 220 to be exact — than a regular burger and better flavor. Right now, the business only has one location, which opened in August 2011. Since the signs went up, they’ve been “breaking sales records every day,” Apel said.
Apel, who splits his time between living in Guttenberg and Iowa City, also tells people proudly that Miss Iowa and Hawkeye cheerleader Rebecca Hodge posted on her Facebook page that Sam’s is one of her favorite restaurants.
Sam’s also sells breakfast sandwiches — including a burger with an egg on top — potato cakes, fries and coffee roasted in Guttenberg. The name doesn’t mean anything special; Apel said he wanted some alliteration and Sam sounded like a good name.
Some have noticed the Caboose Burger truck that’s been driving around town. Apel said he plans to sell food out of it in the summer.
Growing up in Waterloo, Apel’s mom used to make him steamed burgers. But he said he couldn’t get them at any of the restaurants in town. Here in Iowa City, he said he’s still the only one who sells steamed burgers.
More than 20 people already have expressed interest in opening their own Sam’s location, Apel said. He said he’d like to start out in the southern states, but also has 22 locations he’d eventually like to see in Iowa. Right now, the company’s production capacity is nine restaurants per month, he said.
Manager Michael Wilson will be responsible for training future franchisees on the ways of Sam’s: cooking, running registers and cleaning.
A graduate of the California Culinary Academy in San Fransisco, Wilson has worked in his share of restaurants, but said he believes in the steamed burger.
“The nice thing about this concept is that it holds a lot of flavor in the burger,” he said. “As far as cooking goes, it’s an easy concept. You can make a really tasty burger with minimal effort and make a quality product again and again and again.”
The customer base is a mix — a lot of students, downtown workers and University of Iowa employees, Apel said.
Wilson recalls a student who had a burger last Saturday and equated it to a religious experience.
“Until you’ve actually had one, it’s sort of hard to explain,” he said. “The vast majority of people that come by come back.”