When the doors closed over at Chicago Burgerwurks on Ogden Avenue in Brookfield back in 2014, fans of the joint’s inventive burgers were roundly disappointed. But in the next month or so there may be a way to satisfy those cravings.
Construction is largely complete inside and outside the red and yellow fast-food stand at 8819 Ogden Ave. and a new tenant — Burger Colony — is poised to move in.
Goran Videnov, one of two partners making a first go at operating a burger restaurant, said he hoped that Burger Colony would be open sometime in October.
“There’s just small stuff to get done on the inside,” Videnov told the Landmark in a phone interview. “Then we’re ready to open.”
The legacy of Burgerwurks is not lost on the owners of Burger Colony. Videnov specifically referenced the business when asked about his restaurant’s approach to the fast-food classic.
“The previous owners were making good burgers, and people like it,” Videnov said. “Our burgers will be completely custom-made and we’ll cut our fries in the shop. We’ll have big, affordable burgers.”
Videnov said the menu at this point will tilt toward burgers, hot dogs and chicken. In time, the menu may expand, he said.
He and his partner settled on the longtime fast-food stand because of its location on Ogden and the success of prior businesses there.
“We thought it was a great place,” he said.
It’s taken some time to get the property up to snuff, however. When the partners first spied the property, the parking lot was covered with snow.
“When it melted, we saw how bad the parking lot was,” Videnov said.
The parking lot recently has received some attention and new striping. And inside, the space got a fairly complete overhaul, he said.
“The building was in bad shape,” said Videnov. “The more we looked, the more we found to fix. It was a lot of work to put it back into good shape.”
