Burbs Burgers to close all Seattle restaurants

Meghan Walker Ballard

Burbs Burgers is closing up shop in Seattle, including its Ballard location inside Great Notion Brewing (5101 14th Ave NW).

Owner Josh Henderson got his start with a food truck called Skillet Street Food in 2007. The concept morphed into a brick-and-mortar when Henderson opened Skillet Diner in 2013 at 2034 NW 56th Street. It was open for five years before shuttering (the location is now home to Katsu Burger, which opened in 2018).

Henderson opened 20 restaurants in 13 years—including Skillet Diner, Great State Burger, Westward, and Hollywood Tavern—before deciding to hone his efforts on just one concept: Burbs Burgers.

Along with the Ballard location, Henderson opened Burbs restaurants in Montlake, Georgetown, Pioneer Square, and Bellevue at the height of the pandemic. Burbs employed 40 people across its five locations.

In a video to customers, Henderson shared that he recently filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy to regroup and save the business.

“I’m out of options,” Henderson said. And now, he’s hoping he might find an investor or someone who wants to buy the business.

“I might be heavily biased – but I believe this business is worth investing in. It would be such a waste for it to all go away. But that’s what’s about to happen. I’m trying to avoid that as much as I can,” he said.

“I gotta figure it out. If you know of anyone who is interested in buying a burger chainlet – let me know. Let me know quick.”

Photo: Burbs Burgers on Instagram