The traffic on the corner of Richmond and Sheppard stood at a standstill as people tried to make their way into the parking lot of the newly opened Trill Burgers. The restaurant, which has earned the Trill OG the title of Good Morning America’s Ultimate Burger Spot, finally opened its brick-and-mortar location.
The opening gave fans the opportunity to finally try Bun B’s smash burger concept and Houstonians quickly lined up at the new location, filling the parking lot and some of the lots next door. Upon learning about patrons parking at other establishments Bun B quickly went inside to let customers know to move their cars.
“Once again welcome to Trill Burgers!” he yelled as his boisterous voice filled the restaurant and brought the crowd to silence. “If you are not parked in our parking lot and are parked at any other lot around us you will be towed!”
When no one in the restaurant moved the Port Arthur native repeated the instructions and was still met with silence and no movement.
A customer looked up from his burger and yelled back “Worth it!” to the delight of the room as patrons laughed and either returned to their food at the table or continued standing in line.
Trill Burgers has gained national fame with its series of pop ups and celebrity taste testings. DJ Khalid, Z-Ro, Tyler the Creator, Letoya Luckett, Juvenile, CC Sabathia, Kam Franklin and countless others have appeared on Trill Burger’s Instagram page giving their stamp of approval. For months that same social media page was flooded with comments and messages asking how others can get the burger and Wednesday everyone received their answer.
“This is our soft opening,” said Bun as he stepped outside to look at the line and speak with his wife who was making sure traffic was being handled in the parking lot. “It’s a lot of hard work come to fruition. It’s a lot of sacrifice to get to where we are with this company and brand. We overcame a lot to be here, but it is the people that truly helped to build all of this and for that I am eternally grateful.
While there was a line because of opening day one of the standout points was how quickly the line was moving. Bun has spoken after pop ups about making sure their overall process of delivering a burger to customers improved and it was evident Wednesday. While a pop up has a lot of elements that are out of a business’s control, having an actual location has definitely improved wait times. Is there still a wait? Absolutely. Is the wait in line as long as previous pop ups at the rodeo or city hall? Not even close.
“We’re always working towards improving the process,” says Bun. “As we become more available, and more people become aware of who we are there will always be more things to navigate. Today is the first day testing the system inside as well as the flow of traffic and so far, so good. We are running out of parking, so we need to get the drive through up and running to accommodate more people, but the response is a blessing. We’re really excited to present this burger to Houston.”
For Bun B’s first offering to the food world as well as his first brick & mortar it’s a strong start to a big future. When asked where he sees the future of Trill Burgers going the UGK MC sarcastically laughs and says this will be the only one. After a short pause he smiles as he looks again at the line of people leading out the front door.
“I want to put a Trill Burger everywhere. That’s the goal. I want to be as many places as possible.”
Wednesday’s opening is another solid step toward reaching that goal.
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This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2023.
