Not to Be Missed

I don’t do a lot of restaurant reviews on here, mostly because there are already lots of blogs and websites where you can get that kind of information, and partly because this is a business blog. But I’m going to make an exception this time, because this is really a follow-up on an earlier post, because I like this place and want it to succeed, and because I feel the company has things to teach us. And if you eat as many hamburgers as I do, it’s really hard not to comment on a company that appears to have put a new spin on this most basic of American favorites…

Regular visitors to this page (assuming I have any) will recall that for nearly three years there had been a large storefront sitting vacant in the strip mall right at the north-eastern end of MSU’s campus, which I mentioned in an earlier post when it appeared that there might finally be a new tenant going into that space. For a commercial property to have been left fallow for that long there almost had to be something wrong with it, and as far as any of us could tell nothing had changed about the location. There were no new housing units around that corner, nor had there been any change in traffic patterns or public transit, and the only changes in the mall itself had involved a few long-term tenants leaving and a few new ones arriving – a possible change to the center’s primary demographic, but nothing that should have made any difference to a potential renter…

What eventually arrived wasn’t a retail store at all; it was a restaurant called Bagger Dave’s – which calls itself a “Legendary Burger Tavern.” Talking with one of the senior staff, we found out that it’s a native Michigan company, founded about five years ago in Berkley, Michigan and now up to six locations in the lower part of the state. The company uses local sourcing for all of its meats, cheeses, produce and microbrew beers, and they’re apparently working on getting in local wines, too. The local sourcing is good for community relations, of course, and it’ a great way of getting local customers to accept you when you move into a new market – we’re all loyal Michigan people, just like you. But the thing is, this really IS good for the local economy, and it helps your new neighbors to get work, be more profitable, and make enough disposable income to go out for meals…

As an example of enlightened self-interest or good business practice, you’d be pressed to improve on it. But the other interesting thing is that while there are literally thousands of businesses in America that will sell you a burger and a beer, very few of them attempt to raise this product mixture to an art form, let alone a way of life. By offering the best (local) beers, premium-grade ingredients, and an unlimited number of possible combinations – the company offers several “standard” burgers, but will let you combine literally anything they have on hand in any order you want to create whatever you consider the “perfect” burger – they really are offering a product that no other company in this market has even considered. The closest thing in any local market would probably be the Five Guys burger stand, and they don’t have wine, salad, desserts, appetizers, or beer available, let alone table service. There are a few companies in the US that split the difference (they have the customizable burgers, but not the other menu items or table service), notably the Fuddruckers chain, but none of them are to be found in the Central/South Michigan market…

I don’t know how well Bagger Dave’s is going to do in the long term; their business concept appears sound, and their products appear to be superior, but I’ve seen a lot of good companies that didn’t quite make it through no fault of their own. So let me encourage anyone who might be passing by the corner of Hagadorn and Grand River in East Lansing to stop in for a burger and a beer. You’ll be doing a good thing for your friends and neighbors, or at least for my friends and neighbors, and you’ll also get an absolutely world-class hamburger out of the deal. What more do you want for lunch?