Downtown restaurants serve up outlandish burgers for 2nd annual ‘Conway Burger Week’

CONWAY, S.C. (WBTW) — If you’re a burger lover, then you won’t want to miss the 2nd annual Conway Burger Week.

Eleven restaurants in downtown Conway are getting creative and enjoying a little bit of competition as they beef up their menus with their most outlandish burgers. You’ll find everything from a surf and turf burger to a Jamaican jerk burger, and even an Asian-style wonton chicken burger. 

“We had a very positive reaction from our restaurant owners and staff,” said Kelli Thomas, the communications manager for Conway Downtown Alive. “They said that there were lots of people coming in specifically for the burgers. I personally talked to many people [who said] that they planned out their week based on Burger Week because they wanted to try each of the different burgers.”

The event gives burger lovers a chance to head downtown and try something new. And, as wacky as these burgers sound, one restaurant owner said they’re bringing in great business.

Bonfire Taqueria, nestled on the Waccamaw River, captured the top prize in last year’s inaugural Conway Burger Week with a surf and turf burger. They’re hoping to win it all again this year.

“Brunch is wildly popular, so we decided to morph one of our best sellers, French toast, into a breakfast burger,” chef Darren Smith said. “So we’re taking half ground beef, half Neese’s country sausage, and we make a patty. We grill it, and while we’re grilling French toast, and then we layer it with an over-easy egg, American cheese, and then once we plate it, we drizzle maple syrup and powdered sugar over it.”

Smith said he and his team work to brainstorm and create unique dishes like this one. It takes a lot of trial and error — and a lot of taste-testing.

Smith, who also owns Rivertown Bistro in downtown Conway, said that while Burger Week is big business, it’s also fun to drum up some friendly competition between his teams.

“If either one wins, that’s great, but if we don’t, we’ll still have a great time doing it and we’ll put out excellent burgers, and I’ll wish the best for whatever restaurant in downtown wins,” Smith said.

Regardless of who wins, Smith said everyone benefits from the additional support of local businesses.

“In this day and time, it seems food costs are high, labor’s high,” Smith said. “Everything’s just kind of there to make it really hard for restaurateurs. Now’s the time to get out and support.”

Conway Burger Week starts on Monday and continues through Sunday. You can find a full list of participating restaurants and their menus on the website for Conway Downtown Alive.