Tasting Notes: Jack’s Hop Center Burgers

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Sometimes the universe has other plans for you.

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Such is the case with Tu Le, who has just announced plans to open a second location for his beloved St. Albert restaurant, Jack’s Burger Shack at Jasper Avenue and 104 Street in Edmonton. It’s not even a year ago that Le, armed with a $ 125,000 grand prize from the new Stadium Yards project, received an anchor spot in the mixed-use development near Commonwealth Stadium. Then he began to have doubts.

“There was so much uncertainty at the time,” Le says by phone from the new location, the sound of workers hammering diligently in the background. “It was simply impossible for me to make the decision to open a restaurant during that time. So we just put everything on hold. “

Le’s caution was rewarded last summer when she learned of an opening on Jasper Avenue at a former Oodle Noodle location.

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“Before the Stadium Yards competition, we had actually looked at a space near Jasper, around Tres Carnales,” he says. “The location was good, but there were a lot of mechanical and other problems. Downtown and Far West were the two areas we were looking at, and we were lucky to find this one. “

It will look nothing like the location of the parents, but it assures you that the food will be exactly the same. Expect to find favorites like the On the Cobb blue cheese spread, the self-explanatory Inferno, and your only vegetarian option, the Brontosaurus. Most importantly, it guarantees that your exceptional hamburger buns will continue to be made especially by Sobeys in St. Albert.

“I talked to them about doubling their volume and they said it wasn’t a problem. The only difference is that instead of just going down the block to get them, we will have to take them downtown. We’ll make it work, because those buns are a big part of the burger. “

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Le is currently grappling with permits, but plans are to get the new location up and running just before the end of November. He has signed a 10-year lease, proof of his optimism about Jack’s future in downtown Edmonton. As Le firmly says, you will be in this for the long haul.

“I mean, obviously we hope there won’t be a fifth wave,” he acknowledges. “We have to believe that everything will work out and that people will start to return to their jobs downtown. COVID cannot last forever, and we will be here for when that happens. “

UNITE local food in Kingsway

Kingsway Mall continues to experiment with the standard shopping experience when advertising LINK, a collaborative market space and business incubator devised by The Makers Keep founder Katrina Petryshyn.

Billed as “the first retail concept of its kind in the city,” UNITE currently has 85 vendors in the area in a multipurpose event space, with a tasting bar and a marketplace highlighting locally made brands. UNITE will have all the necessary licenses and will feature local food and beverage options selected by the Uproot Food Collective.

It opens on Saturdays, with the same opening hours as the shopping center: Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Sundays and holidays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

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