Angie's Burger is now open at the Angie's Prime Grill spot on Thomas Road.
The newest concept comes from Tony and Roushan Christofellis, the duo who founded the fast-growing Salad and Go chain. They sold Salad and Go in 2021 and turned their focus to the Angie's concepts, named after Tony's late mother.
Similar to Salad and Go, the concept behind the Angie's restaurants is to make quality food affordable. The first Angie's restaurant, Angie's Lobster, sells lobster rolls for between $8.99 and $12.99. Snow crab sandwiches and shrimp rolls made with "five wild-caught Mexican colossal shrimp," are also available for $7.99 each, according to the website.
In October 2023, Angie's Prime Grill hit the Phoenix market, with the catchphrase "Prime steakhouse meets drive-thru." This concept offers meals including a drink and a choice of three protein options: chicken for $7.79, USDA Prime top sirloin steak for $10.70 or four wild-caught Mexican colossal shrimp for $11.99. Customers can then add their chosen protein to a warm bowl, grilled burrito or salad. Many of the salads may feel familiar to fans of the owners' original chain.
In order to achieve such affordable prices, each of the concept's websites tout their company's efficiency model. A "How do we do it?" page explains cost-saving measures such as having only eight employees at each location, simple non-branded packaging and no extras such as straws, salt or pepper.
One of those cost-saving techniques inspired Angie's Burger, according to a news release announcing the new concept. When trimming steak for Angie's Prime Grill resulted in leftover meat, the opportunity to make burgers presented itself, according to the release.
“If we are going to make luxury food... affordable to everyone, we cannot apply the traditional restaurant business model. We are going to have to be extremely innovative,” Tony said in the release. “We are a disruptive restaurant model changing what and how the average, hard-working American eats.”
Angie's Burger started slinging patties made of those Prime trimmings on Tuesday. The menu currently includes four options: a classic burger, cheeseburger, bacon cheeseburger and burger with an over-medium egg. Customers can order a la carte or make it a meal with fries and a drink. Prices range from $7.99 to $11.99.
The Thomas Road location is one of only a few in the family of restaurants with indoor seating, so customers can take a seat and try the new burger menu for themselves.
