Burger Love spawns new pop-up restaurant

Burger Love has met the pop-up store this year in P.E.I., with a new Charlottetown restaurant serving up a menu full of burgers throughout the month of April.

"With Burger Love being the first time where people crawl out of their snow forts and come into the trading post, this is a good opportunity to launch something," said chef John Pritchard, who is behind Pure Kitchen Pop Up Burgertown.

The restaurant is offering the Rib Tickler as part of the annual competition.

"It's ground chuck," Pritchard told Mainstreet P.E.I.'s Angela Walker. "There's also braised short rib on top of that, and a horse radish dijonnaise, a red onion marmalade, and a fantastic bun."

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The pop-up restaurant is located on Great George Street, in the site of the former Big Orange Lunchbox.

The restaurant won't be closing after the Burger Love campaign has ended though.

"I think it's going to go a little bit longer," Pritchard said. "This space had been derelict for I think about two years, and I thought this would be an ideal spot to come in briefly and just test the waters."

New restaurant each month

What he's planned is a series of pop-up restaurants in the same spot, changing each month.

Each one will offer a niche menu, something specialized that perhaps wouldn't be able to last on its own over the long haul, but could be the flavour of the month.

"Every month going forward, there's going to be a different town," said Pritchard. "This month is Burgertown, next month we're going to move on to another concept, and I think that's going to be Noodletown actually, Asian noodles."

He's looking at French and Italian themes, and of course, he'll focus on the tourist trade too.

"I think in the summer months we're going to really hit the seafood hard and maybe be Lobster Town or Shellfishville," he laughed.

Everything will change each month, right down to the wine list and cocktails, which will be chosen to match the cuisine. "The idea is to keep it really lean, and just do what we're doing really well," said Pritchard.

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