burger-chan

/ˈbərɡər-CHän/

noun

1. a hybrid word combining the English word "burger," short for hamburger, and the Japanese diminutive suffix expressing cuteness

2. a highly-acclaimed burger restaurant in Houston serving highly customizable burgers that can be as simple or as complex as you'd like, with many components thoughtfully prepared in-house

3. a "cute" burger consisting of two 2-oz ground chuck beef patties, smashed to order, with lettuce, tomato, caramelized onion, cheddar cheese, and house-made thousand island sauce on a toasted Bread Man Baking Co brioche bun

burger-chan

5353 W ALABAMA ST STE 110
HOUSTON, TX 77056-5931
United States

832-408-0860

Plenty of surface level parking up front!

Diane and Willet Feng closed the underground Greenway Plaza location of burger-chan at the end of August 2020. While that location is permanently closed, the closing of the Greenway location does not spell the end of burger-chan.

Diane and Willet signed a lease for a 2,200 square foot space at 53 West, a mixed-use development owned by Braun Enterprises, back in May of 2019. The official address of burger-chan II is 5353 W ALABAMA ST STE 110 HOUSTON, TX 77056-5931. Prior to COVID-19, Diane and Willet had planned to open burger-chan II sometime in the fall of 2020. Due to delay after delay due to the pandemic, burger-chan II did not soft open until January 3, 2022.

While burger-chan in the Galleria-area will continue to serve the burgers and sides that made burger-chan worthy of praise from food writers and foodies alike, it will be different from the original Greenway food court location in many ways:

Diane and Willet acquired a TABC beer and wine license for this above-ground location;
burger-chan’s hours will be expanded to include weekend service;
burger-chan’s menu—as well as Anti Burger Club (ABC)—will include non-burger specials that showcase Chef Willet’s culinary talents;
and
burger-chan will include indoor dining room seating, and outside patio-style seating as well.

For any additional information, please contact us directly at burgerchanhtx@gmail.com.

Hours of Operation

Thanksgiving Break

We will be closed from Monday, 11/25/2024, through Monday, 12/4/2024, for Thanksgiving break.

We will resume normal business hours on Tuesday, 12/5/2024.

Order delivery

burger-chan DELIVERS!

If you're within our 8-mile* delivery radius, we can make that happen!

The delivery option is available via our online ordering platform.

Click here to order online.

*DoorDash sets the delivery radius, and it’s technically closer to 7.5 miles.

Job Opportunities

[Updated on 11/13/2024]

burger-chan is currently hiring for a full-time back-of-house team member (click here) and a part-time front-of-house team member (click here).

Those interested in joining team burger-chan can also simply e-mail burgerchanhire@gmail.com with a resume or call/text 832-408-0860.

About Us

burger-chan is a counter-service gourmet burger concept that draws inspiration from Asian flavors. The “chan” in our name is the Japanese diminutive suffix expressing cuteness, and it rhymes with “John.” Many of our sauces are made in-house, and we use fresh ground chuck for our patties. We serve some burger classics and some innovative items, but hopefully will never be labeled as “gimmicky.” More than anything, we want people to be blown away by the flavors we build. The food we prepare is thoughtful and time consuming. A focus on good ingredients, hard work, and not taking shortcuts have guided our success.

Back in April of 2016, Diane and Willet Feng opened burger-chan, nee Kuma Burgers, in the underground food court of Greenway Plaza. While Willet originally wanted his first restaurant concept to be a Singaporean eatery, his friends David Buehrer (Greenway Coffee) and John Peterson (The Rice Box) convinced him to take over a second-gen burger space in Greenway.

From 2016 until 2020, burger-chan not only won a steady stream of customers, but also won accolades from food critics like Alison Cook of the Houston Chronicle and Eric Sandler of CultureMap. burger-chan was on Alison Cook’s Top 100 Houston Restaurants list from 2016-2019, and came in at #25 on CultureMap’s 2019 Top 100 Restaurants in Houston list.

During the first four years of operation, burger-chan predominantly served the office workers in Greenway Plaza. Due to the pandemic, we permanently closed the Greenway Plaza location at the end of 2020. We opened our flagship brick-and-mortar location, dubbed burger-chan 2.0, in the Galleria-area, as of Monday, January 3, 2022.

In 2022, burger-chan was once again listed in the Houston Chronicle’s Top 100 Best Houston restaurants of 2022.

In 2023, Yelp rated burger-chan as one of the top 100 restaurants in the United States. burger-chan is ranked #47 out of 100.

2019.11.19.About Us Head shot.jpg — Willet Feng and Diane Wu Feng are the co-owners of burger-chan. Their story is unique and constantly evolving. Y’all posed a few questions, and they’ve answered them below. Click on the question to reveal the answer!

DISCLAIMER: These questions and answers haven’t been updated since 2019, so some of the answers are outdated.

Lily thinks we should remove all this personal material to force writers to come to our restaurant, eat our food, and write about us.

I love that Lily has our best interests in mind, and I’m writing this on the off chance that she reads this. I decided to keep the old FAQ down below because reading those old answers is a bit nostalgic.

However, I won’t update the Q&A below because Willet is working on a cookbook, so he’ll want to keep all the good stories for that :).

+ How did y'all meet?

Diane: We met at Rice University back in 2004. We both took Asian Studies classes, and I believe the first time we met was in the class “Intro to Asian Studies.” It was not love at first sight. I was pretty studious, so I didn’t think about guys or devote any time to thinking about them. But Willet was pretty persistent--he asked to work on group projects together, he signed up to do a Lunar New Year dance together, and he agreed to study at Fondren Library with me pretty regularly. Over time, we ended up spending a lot of time together, and he sort of grew on me--or wore me down.

+ What's a typical day like?

Willet’s typical day: Get to work at 6, set up burger builder station, assist with breakfast service if needed, prep sauces if needed, hand cut burger toppings (lettuce, tomato, etc), make salads and coleslaw, check quality on everything at the beginning of lunch service, build burgers for lunch service, help clean and break down the line, done by 3 ish. When store #2 opens, probably bring over salvageable prep for dinner service and help out for dinner service.

Diane’s typical day: I am in charge of getting #emojibaby to daycare in the morning, so I am no longer there for breakfast service. I get up around 6:30am, and check to make sure staff has arrived for breakfast service. Between 6:30am and 7:30 or 8:00am, I take care of computer work: reply to e-mails, work on payroll, post on social media, find good chalkboard material (word scrambles, math problems, and quotations of the day), etc. Technically I can drop #emojibaby off at daycare by 7:30am, but I like letting her sleep in so I can get work or chores done. I need that quiet time in the morning. #Emojibaby usually wakes from her slumber around 8am, and she takes forever to get ready and get out of the house. Part of the reason she takes so long is that I let her. She’s only going to be this young for so long, and she doesn’t understand the need to rush to get out of the house by a certain time. Usually when I rush her, she ends up taking longer. We live quite close to work, but daycare is in the Chinatown area. So every morning and afternoon, daycare drop-off and pick-up adds forty minutes to an hour to my commute. It’s worth it to us, though, because her daycare offers instruction in Mandarin Chinese.

After drop-off, I get to burger-chan around 10am and check in with all the front-of-house staff to see where they are in terms of lunch prep. If we are short-staffed, I fill in for a position. If I’m not actively in a position, I act as a manager and oversee lunch service. Since Willet is currently on the line and is less of a people-person, I deal with most customer service issues. Even when I’m not actively needed during service, I still like to assist to make sure service runs as smoothly as possible. I also like to scan the crowd and say hi to our regulars. I keep my ears perked and listen to questions at the cashier station, and bob my head when our staff answers them better than I would. I am constantly amazed and grateful that our staff work so hard on our behalf, and I love it when they talk about our product and about our store to customers. I never take that for granted. Once clean-up is done around 2:30pm to 3:00pm, I take care of odds-and-ends until around 4:00pm or 4:30pm.

Then I go pick #emojibaby up from daycare and head home for the evening. I rarely take any work home with me, but I’ll occasionally need an extra hour or two to knock something out that’s pressing. I’ve learned to embrace the idea of the “split shift.” Rather than work continuously for hours on end, I work a couple hours here, and a couple hours there. Sometimes it’s frustrating that I can’t get everything done immediately, but I have to accept this new way of doing things now that I have a small business and a small child in my life.

+ Why did you choose the hamburger as your signature selling point? Was there a story to this choice? Or perhaps a particular experience with a hamburger that lead to your current choices/success?

Willet: The burger chose me, in a sense. While looking for a spot to open a Singaporean eatery, our friends at Greenway Coffee and The Rice Box urged me to open up down in the food court at Greenway Plaza. The only spot available was Bango Burgers. To open up a concept down there, I’d have to buy Bango Burgers, change the name and concept if desired, and continue serving burgers. To be honest, it was a hard no at first! But locations are hard to come by and every spot I did inquire about was not interested in an unproven concept, or they wanted my sales projections to reflect unrealistic success. Given the relatively low investment and rent to open up shop in Greenway, I eventually started conceptualizing burger-chan (nee Kuma Burgers).

Despite having 10 years of restaurant experience, I was not fully prepared to open my own restaurant. The first month was rough. The menu was far from finalized. Staffing was a nightmare. But I was fortunate - I had made a lot of friends over the years by being a dependable, hard-working coworker. When I thought we’d have to close for a few weeks to staff up after a very challenging soft opening, several friends offered to come in on their days off to help us get off the ground. With their help, advice, and feedback, we survived. If I had to attribute our success to something, it would be hard work and friendships. Those two things alone will get you far in any endeavor.

+ Why are you so personally involved in everything? What influenced you to be so hard-working?

Diane: I’m a workaholic. When I was a math teacher, I spent almost every waking hour thinking about or doing work. I spent countless hours outside of the classroom lesson planning and grading. I’d go in to school on the weekends to get copies done and organize my classroom. Teaching was and is my passion. But once I had #emojibaby, I realized that sort of dedication was not sustainable and unhealthy.

So my plan after having a kid was to return to the classroom on a part-time basis. However, once Willet opened the burger restaurant, it soon became clear that he needed me to take care of all the odds and ends that he didn’t have the time or energy to tackle. So I put teaching on hold, and focused on helping Willet open and run a restaurant. I took on every task that I was capable of accomplishing that didn’t require any culinary expertise. I enjoy playing the supporting role because it gives me the spare time and energy to spend time with #emojibaby.

Willet: I'm personally involved in everything because it's my passion and my vision. The less involved I am the less it will stay true to my vision.

I believe hard work comes naturally with internal motivation and genuine interest. Growing up, I did well in school, but I don't think I was a hard worker. I did what was asked of me in my few office stints, but never went above and beyond. Once I decided to follow my passion, I worked hard to improve. My first job made it apparent I'm not naturally gifted in the culinary arts, and my knife skills were atrocious. But I practiced at home for hours outside of work, honing my knife control. I read up on food - not just recipes, but everything related as well (I.e. Harold McGee, Anthony Bourdain). I worked at restaurants that interested me, but also realized my own growth depended on how hard I worked.

+ What were the drivers for pursuing culinary dreams versus your respective majors and what did your parents think? Are moms and dads okay now?

Willet: As far back as I can remember, I’ve always been really into food. As a kid, I would ask my mom what’s for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Frequently. In a sing-song manner. I am sure it drove her nuts. She was constantly under pressure to come up with what we were going to eat. But I really, really wanted to know. All the time.

Growing up, it was never really an option to become a chef and open up a restaurant. I started cooking for myself during college and would ask my mom for recipes, but I was not very talented.

Fast forward a few years and Diane and I are living in Seattle. She’s pursuing a PhD in sociology and I’m looking for an office job. I sent out resumes, went to interviews, but could not find a job that would be a good fit. Then a series of events happened. First, we met Iron Chef Morimoto at a book signing, which definitely was very exciting for me. Then, I was chatting with a caucasian cook behind the sushi line, asking him what made him decide to do sushi. He said he’d been in the industry for some time and wanted to learn something new. He had been at the sushi restaurant for 6 months. He said it’s easy to get a cooking position at any restaurant - they’re always short staffed, and all skills can be learned on the job. This got me thinking: why not acquire some cooking skills while I’m unemployed? I might as well be doing something while I’m looking for the perfect office job. It probably helped that we were far away from both sets of parents…

As far as acceptance, I think it took a while. When we moved back to Houston about a year later, I earnestly tried to find another office job. I know it was hard for my parents to tell their friends what I was doing with my life … probably embarrassing. I remember hearing them say that it’s just a phase. And for a while, I hoped that I could find the “perfect” office job. But it was not meant to be. Every job that seemed promising were sales positions - door-to-door salesman, cold calling, etc. Jobs that involved more skills never replied. Eventually, I asked my parents if I could continue cooking. The answer was not immediate. After some thought, my dad offered to put me through culinary school. Education: it’s always the answer for Chinese parents! I happily agreed to his “condition” and enrolled at a Le Cordon Bleu in Austin, TX.

At this point, I think it’s safe to say both sets of parents have no choice but to accept it. The best we can do is to become as successful as possible so that one day they will be truly proud of what we’re doing. I haven’t yet figured out what level of success as a chef and restaurateur is the equivalent of being a doctor, lawyer, or engineer … but I hope to far exceed that level one day.

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Press

Houston Chronicle | Written by Bao Ong, Jody Schmal and Sonia Garcia November 2024 Top 18 burgers in Houston

Houston Press October 2024 Best Of Houston® 2024: Best Burger

Houston Chronicle | Written by Alison Cook, Jody Schmal, Bao Ong, J.C. Reid, Todd Romero, Sonia Garcia and Misha Govshteyn October 2024 The 100 Best Restaurants in Houston of 2024

Eater Houston | Brittany Britto Garley September 2024 The 22 Best Burgers in Houston Right Now

MSN | Written by Alex Keight September 2024 The 40 Most DELICIOUS Burgers In America, Ranked | burger-chan's "The Spicy" Ranked #1

FOX 26 Houston | The Nightcap with Carolina Sanchez February 2024 Yelp's top 100 in H-Town

ondeck January 2024 The Highest-Rated Independent Restaurants in Every State | burger-chan #10 on list of highest-ranked independent burger joints in the U.S.

Yelp January 2024 Top 100 US Restaurants 2024 | burger-chan #27

Houston Chronicle | Written by Sonia Garcia January 2024 Yelp's Top 100 Places to Eat in 2024 features 5 Houston restaurants

chron.com | Written by Erica Cheng January 2024 Five Houston restaurants land on Yelp’s annual Top 100 restaurants list

Houston Food Finder | Written by Phaedra Cook January 2024 Yelp Names 5 Houston Restaurants to Top 100 Places to Eat for 2024

Click2Houston | Produced by Erica Ponder January 2024 5 Houston-area restaurants ranked in Yelp’s top 100 places to eat list

Strictly Dumpling | Filmed by Mike Chen November 2023 Join me in Houston, TX as I take on the ultimate breakfast challenge - building a gigantic 17-ingredient Texas-sized burger!

Austin American-Statesman | Written by Matthew Odam November 2023 'He had a vision': 25 former Uchi staff members run their own restaurants, kitchens

Houston Chronicle | Written by Alison Cook, Bao Ong, Greg Morago, J.C. Reid, Todd Romero and Jody SchmalOctober 2023 The Houston Chronicle's Top 100 Restaurants of 2023

InsideHook | Written by Kevin Gray September 2023 Where to Eat in Houston Right Now, According to Its Top Chefs

Yelp August 2023 Top 100 Places to Eat in Texas 2023 | burger-chan #13

InsideHook | Written by Kevin Gray August 2023 The 10 Best Burger Joints in Texas

Houstonia Magazine | Written by Daniel RenfrowAugust 2023 Houston Burgers You Absolutely Need to Experience

Eater | Written by Brittany Britto GarleyAugust 2023 The World of Omakase and Burgers Will Collide at This Houston Pop-Up Event

CultureMap Houston | Written by Eric Sandler July 2023 Houston's 10 crunchiest, gooiest, and creamiest potato dishes transcend simple sides

KHOU Channel 11 | Great Day Houston with Deborah Duncan July 2023 Get a taste of Burger-Chan, some of Houston's most unique burgers

Houstonia Magazine | Written by Daniel Renfrow July 2023 Which Houston Smashburger Reigns Supreme?

Texas Standard | Interview with Ali Khan May 2023 Where to find some of the best burgers in Texas

Houston Chronicle | Written by Nguyên Lê April 2023 15 of our favorite spots for Houston's Asian Restaurant Month

Houston Matters April 2023 The Full Menu: Dining on a budget in Houston

CultureMap Houston | Written by Eric Sandler March 2023 Houston's best burgers smash the game with exotic add-ons, beefed-up buns, and more