Tonyburgers Is Right At Home In Its New Kaysville Location

After opening seven Tonyburgers locations around the Wasatch Front, it was time that Chris and Nicole Carver brought a Tonyburgers to Kaysville.

“We have lived in the Kaysville and Fruit Heights area for over 30 years, and this is our home,” said Nicole Carver.

Opening at 275 West 200 North in August, the restaurant has done really well so far, she said.

The original Tonyburgers restaurant opened in 2009, and since then, added locations in Clinton, Salt Lake City,  Holladay, South Jordan, West Valley and Herriman. But they haven’t added a new location in the past five years. Nicole Carver explained that the family business is self-funded, and they are cautious when opening more locations.

“We had a landlord that came to us and said he had this space,” Nicole explained. “We felt good about it, and we felt that it might be good for the community.”

“It’s been a great response,” she added. “My favorite part is watching people see other neighbors that come in that they didn’t know were here.”

Although the restaurant is at the west end of the strip mall, there’s no drive-through window. It’s designed with seating to enjoy your burger, and for takeout.

All Tonyburgers locations have the same menu. One of the newer items is the Super Smash burger. All of the burgers at Tonyburgers are “smashburgers,” as they are cooked on a chrome flat-top grill. But the Super Smashburger is a bit different, because “This one we smash extra thin, and sweet onions are smashed into the burger,” said Nicole Carver.

Tonyburgers uses a chrome flat-top grill because, “Chrome doesn’t have the pores that some metals do, so there’s no flavor transfer from what was cooked on it before,” said Chris Carver. “The meat also sticks to the grill better, so we get a good ‘crust,’ or caramelization that happens when you put a patty on a hot grill.” 

Although you can choose from a variety of burger toppings, there are a few “Manager favorites.” For instance, the I’m So Bleu combines blue cheese crumbles, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and a garlic aioli sauce.

One top seller is Tony’s Southern Burger, using house-made ranch dressing, BBQ sauce, jalapenos, onion strings, and pepper jack cheese. It has a bit of spicy kick.

For those who like a classic burger, there’s Ol’ Reliable, with American cheese, lettuce, tomato, fresh onions, pickles and Tony Sauce (similar to fry sauce).

“My dad had a fishing lure he called ‘Ol Reliable,’ because he would always catch a fish with it,” said Chris Carver. “He passed away right before we opened, so I gave a shoutout to him. It’s the classic burger that you can rely on.”

When the Carvers set out to come up with the best burger in Utah, neither had any restaurant experience. Back in 2008, the Carvers were building luxury homes in Park City when the housing market and the economy collapsed. Owning a burger restaurant was Chris’s dream, so they decided to pursue it.

At the time, burgers were enjoying a wave of popularity as people scaled back on expensive meals. People who couldn’t afford to go out for a steak anymore, could still treat themselves to a good burger instead.

Before opening, they visited and taste-tested many burger places — not just in Utah, but also California, Texas, New York — looking for the best burger and what they could mimic.

They came up with precise amounts of the three different beef cuts, for a nice, beefy flavor.

“It’s really an art form to get the right amount of fat and proteins,” Chris Carver said. 

They season the meat only with kosher salt. No pepper, garlic salt, or anything else.

“The flavor comes from the three cuts of meat,” said Chris Carver.

It’s a challenging time to be in the burger business, with beef prices currently soaring.  

“We try to our prices as low as possible, so that we remain competitive, and so all the people who love Tonyburgers can afford to come,” said Nicole Carver. “But Chris and I are being squeezed by the costs. We work with a local meat supplier who is very fair with us, but it’s very challenging.”

The menu also has a “really great grilled chicken sandwich and an Impossible Veggie burger that’s better than you think,” said Nicole Carver.

The Carvers opened the first Tonyburgers before some of the national premium burger chains came to Utah. They opened in 2009 in Centerville, and were doing fine until an In-N-Out Burger opened just a few blocks down the street.

“It killed us,” Nicole Carver said.

They ended up closng the Centerville store and moving to a Clinton location, which has a drive-through. It has done well. Their downtown Salt Lake City location became their best-selling store, Nicole Carver said, crediting word of mouth for its success. 

In 2014, Tonyburgers returned to Centerville, near its initial location. These days, it’s busy with customers, even with In -N-Out still down the street.

Salads were initially on the menu, “But when people walk in and smell the burgers, it’s really hard to order a salad,” said Nicole Carver. The salads never really caught on. They were finally discontinued when the Covid pandemic hit and there was a need to simplify the menu.

Deep-fried cheese curds were another pandemic pivot, when takeout and third-party deliveries like Door Dash and Grub Hub became crucial. 

“Our fries don’t travel as well, although we’ve tried venting and a bunch of different things. So we came up with a different side that travels better,” said Nicole Carver. “Our cheese curds are now a huge seller.”