Rules number 1 thru 3 in the retail business: location, location, location. In retail, you cannot fix a bad location. A location in the back of a lifestyle center and away from the major street intersection isn’t the most ideal place to establish a new burger concept. Perhaps the thought was that this joint (burger joint that is) would be cool, contemporary, and hip enough that word of mouth would generate enough buzz, sort of like a New York City hot spot. Certainly this could still happen but missing are two key ingredients: a great concept and New York City. ExtraOrdinary Burger, also known as EO Burger, is really anything but extraordinary.
The edifice was adorned with jet black awnings with the words “Extra Ordinary” on the overhang. I thought it to be a nice touch. Up towards the front entrance and “voila,” hanging on the building facade, a large metallic/frozen burger that appeared to have lost a battle to Silver Surfer.
Walk inside and directly in front was a register counter with an exposed kitchen on the back side. It looked more suited to be an expedite island and the exposed kitchen near the front gives the sense you’re walking in through the back entrance of the kitchen. The queue is ill-prepared for a huge rush of guests, if there were more than 5 people at one register, the sixth man would be hanging outside the place. And I can safely suggest that hanging “around” a burger joint in the middle of the winter, in Dayton, Ohio is not ideal.
Suspended from the ceiling is a massive white canvas with enough verbiage to make the “Micro Machine” man want to quit his job. The menu layout is an utter (uh-hm) disaster. Not only was it tough to follow but it contained a large section dedicated to wine and beer. Dead smack in the middle of the board is a cartoon image of a talking chicken that professed the option of trading any of their delectable bovine selections for poultry; an awkward touch. It’s like walking into KFC and seeing an image of a talking cow that suggests you can order a bucket of sliders. It’s so unnecessary. The entire entrance experience of the EO Burger is wrong on so many levels.
Observing the space, nothing really made much sense. From the Japanese minimalism décor, two different dining environments, to the cheap red baskets, and the cheap flimsy white plastic utensils (really guys…really????). Yeap, it’s an enigma wrapped in idiot savant. Does that make sense? Well neither did the messaging.
Look left and you get upscale casual seating. Look right and you get a wannabe ritzy wine bar. The entire time I was there I couldn’t get my hands around how they were parlaying the design and menu with the customer journey. It just didn’t quite add up. Then it finally hit me. The entire concept is in fact supposed to be modern day New York City Steakhouse serving top grades of meat (“USDA Prime” is available) and fine wines; all contained in a trendy upscale casual environment with late nite appeal. The difference is they replaced the cut with ground. Talk about trying to get a square peg in a round hole.
The food is where it gets better. Customer satisfaction in our business is measured by the guest’s expectations vs. what actual occurs in the restaurant. I suppose I set my sights too high. I asked for the “Prime” grade burger. When the food arrived it was dripping in grease and the Yukon Gold fries should have been renamed YuGotCon’d Fake Gold Fries. Presentation was a huge failure as well. The serving tray was a simple cheap red basked and the plastic utensils were laughable…I actually did laugh.
Bottom line, this gig was far from water tight. I felt like someone turned in an incomplete assignment. And while I thought the interior (alone) looked modern and chic, it’s far better suited for a sushi restaurant than a premier burger palace. To go out on a limb and label your concept as ExtraOrdinary takes real guts. And while I applaud the ambition, there is little to like about this place. Things just didn’t appear to be well thought out. I compare this place to the likes of PoP Burger in New York City. PoP burger built a late nite atmosphere around a good burger. EO Burger built an environment first and thought of food last. If this place is really ExtraOrdinary, it’s only because there’s nothing else like it…and perhaps it’s best to just keep it that way.
Here see for yourself: www.theeoburger.com
