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Victor Maccharoli - Michael and Cheryl Gardner, owners of The Burger Bus.

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Burger Bus offers local fare at fair prices

By COLBY FRAZIER — Oct. 9, 2009

Burgers sizzle on the grill, crowned with chunks of pepper jack cheese. A heap of diced yams take a swim in the deep fryer, next to onions and, yes, pickle slices.

A man and woman in their mid-30s dance about the stainless steel kitchen, knives and spatulas in hand, working hard to feed people, working hard… not to cut each other.

“I’ve learned that everything is sharp and everything is hot,” one of the chefs says, showing off a day-or-two-old slice across the back of her arm. “We have our battle wounds.”

It’s unlike any commercial kitchen in America, or perhaps the world, because it’s tucked inside a 1998 Chevrolet Collins school bus that actually runs.  

Exactly when the last student in Riverside County took a ride on this bus in unclear. What’s certain is about a year ago, Michael and Cheryl Gardner bought it, had it converted to a kitchen, and for the last five months have been hawking burgers and falafels from the side window — a dream come true for a couple who had toyed with the idea of opening a brick-and-mortar restaurant, but lacking several million to buy a building here, wanted something of their own.

“We put everything we had into it,” said Michael, shortly after wrapping up another day’s work yesterday in the parking lot of a business park at 5425 Hollister Avenue, where The Burger Bus is parked every second and fourth Thursday. “We wanted something that was ours.”

The perks of not paying rent are obvious enough. But, more than anyplace else inside the twelve-and-a-half-foot long, 8-foot wide and 7-foot tall bus, this cost savings shines through in the food.

Free from the restraints of dishwashers, silverware, janitors, bathrooms, televisions and countless other expenses attached to opening a restaurant, the Gardners chose to invest in their core product.

Every ingredient, from the lettuce to the bread, is sourced from local, or as close to local sources, as possible. The rare exception is the cheese, which is made in Petaluma, but is trucked to Santa Barbara on a weekly basis when the creamery arrives for local farmer’s markets. The bread is made at Our Daily Bread, the meat comes from Shalhoob’s, the produce is grown in local soil and the beer in the batter is from Telegraph Brewing Company.

The result is a gourmet burger that, prepared and served anywhere other than a bus, could easily gouge a $10 gash in a wallet.

But at The Burger Bus, the cheeseburger is $7.50, as is the homemade falafel, which is served with a creamy, spicy tomato spread.

Asked about the price disparity between their burger and others like it, the explanation was simple: “People are charging you too much for a burger, honestly,” Cheryl said.

The duo has been in business for five months. They set up shop in various parking lots, (always with permission from property owners, some of whom requested The Burger Bus) Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The stoves run on propane and the bus, which was outfitted by a man in the Los Angeles area, has a generator.

All of the food is stored and prepared inside a kitchen at Earl Warren Showgrounds, where the bus is stored.

With the exception of a special event, (they do some catering), Michael and Cheryl are the only two employees. They can pump out 30 burgers an hour, or about 100 per day.

Despite their ever-changing location, Cheryl said they have faithful customers who “EAT HERE,” as the bus’s license plate says, two or three days a week.

“People have been really receptive and open to our ideas and it’s been quite a success, we feel,” Cheryl said.

The bus has a diesel engine, which the Gardners are in the process of changing over to biodiesel. They already give their grease away to a company that turns it into fuel. Everything else, like the paper that burgers are wrapped in and the diverse selection of canned soda, are recyclable.

The bus, which they call Charlie (because, as Cheryl explained, it looks like Charlie Brown, “yellow with a black stripe”), is a rolling model for sustainability.

Michael, 37, cut his teeth in the restaurant business in the Palo Alto area, but has lived on-and-off again on the South Coast for decades. Cheryl, 35, is an elementary school teacher by trade, but is now the face of The Burger Bus, running the cash register and helping Michael keep the kitchen running.

The two had long wanted to open a restaurant, Cheryl said, and realized quickly that “mobile was the way to go.”

Then, they just did it.

“To know that every choice we make, from the color of the bus to every ingredient that comes on here, is our choice, that’s huge,” Michael said. “It’s kind of a dream come true.”

The Burger Bus Schedule:

First and Third Tuesday: Citrix lower campus, 6500 Hollister Ave

Second and fourth Tuesday: Citrix upper campus, 7408 Hollister Ave.

Wednesday: Red’s Wine Bar, 211 Helena Ave.

First and third Thursday: Pacific Capital Bancorp, 490 S. Fairview Rd.

Second and fourth Thursday: Mentor parking lot, 5425 Hollister Ave.

Friday: Wheelhouse parking lot, corner of Cota and Anacapa.

Saturday: 424 State Street, 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.

The schedule is also online at www.theburgerbus.com.

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These burgers are SUBLIME : 10/9/2009

If you haven't tried a burger from the Burger Bus yet, you must. It is a gourmet burger. Insane quality and super-unique. Once you have had one, you will crave them like a drug. Try the pickle-chips too

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Meat Source? : 10/9/2009

"the meat comes from Shalhoob’s" So it's bought from a local reseller, but where is it raised? Just curious as I've never been all that impressed with Shalhoobs. Great concept, just a shame they don't use a real bun.

SBRes

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Buns : 10/9/2009

Shame on these people! Not using real buns is un-American! ...but kinda way more tasty and with some actual nutritional value.

a t m a

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: 10/9/2009

friggin bun wankers! wanna bun? go to Mcdonalds. People just have to complain about everything. SHUT UP!!

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Please make it : 10/9/2009

I can see them making it because they do not have to pay outrageous rents. Also hope the A-holes in City Council dont make a move to eventually curtail their activities.

John Q

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Wishing the Gardners over-the-moon success! : 10/10/2009

Hope to hear that you have a fleet of burger buses in the near future, and when you do, send on up to the SYV area ;-) Good luck!

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Bout time! : 10/10/2009

Let's see what's better - local food, healthy food, near my work where I don't have to get in the car to go get it, sustainable work providing real value to the community! o please please keep it up until I get to try a burger!!!! And thank Edhat and the Daily Sound for getting the word out - hopefully in time.

ruralwannabe

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I love the Burger Bus! : 10/11/2009

Dear Michael and Cheryl, Your entreprenureal spirit and your dedication to a sustainable environment are inspirational. Your burgers are delicious!! Whichever of you thought to spread jalepeno jelly on one of your gourmet burgers is a genius! I hope your following grows stronger as people learn you use the most important ingredient: love! It is clear you love each other and what you do. I congratulate you for your dream come true and look forward to seeing you grow and succeed in Santa Barbara! - John

John J. Thyne III

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great now...evil later : 10/12/2009

just wait until they are successful and have 50 buses all throughout the state, then they will be the big evil burger bus corporation, lol.

darned if you do, darned if you don't

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I <3 Burger Bus : 10/13/2009

These are crave-worthy burgers. I wish they'd introduce a turkey burger with cranberry sauce for the holidays ;)

AS3

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Where's the Bun??? : 10/13/2009

You'd think a bakery in this town could produce a quality bun for such a worthy burger! The ciabatta roll is such a letdown, ruins the experience. Burgers and ciabatta are just not meant to be!

BurgerFan

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Follow the bus : 10/13/2009

I like many people enjoy the burgers, but when my appetite fails to remember the Burger Bus, my twitter widget on my work computer browser comes through and lets me know where exactly they are any given day. If you too use twitter, be sure to follow them http://twitter.com/theburgerbus I admit that I have changed my lunch plans right after recieving a nice little twitter reminder, and ate at the Bus instead.

Jessica G.

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