If you build it, they will come, could be the motto of John Lim of West Windsor. During a family vacation to Marco Island, Florida, several years ago, Lim discovered a Cheeburger Cheeburger restaurant and left with franchise information.##M:[more]## After sitting on the franchise agreement for close to two years, he found a location in Lawrenceville and acted upon a life-long dream. His first restaurant opened June 21 in Mercer Mall in the location of the vacated Nobody Beats the Wiz.
“I’ve always wanted to open a restaurant but I could not have done it while my children were in grade, middle, or high school,” he says. “Now that both of them are in college it is easier but I would not have done it had it not have been for a big opportunity to buy the rights to open in two counties.”
With franchise rights to both Mercer and Middlesex, Lim intends to build four or five new restaurants in the next six years. He is looking to New Brunswick as the location for his next project.
What is Cheeburger Cheeburger? It is a 1950s to ’60s diner-type restaurant decorated in pink and turquoise neon colors, swivel bar stools, chrome walls, and featuring music of the times. The casual sit-down dining experience brings back old memories with foods from the past including egg creams (vanilla or chocolate), root beer floats, and malteds to complement your lunch and dinner.
The term “cheeburger cheeburger” originated in a 1970s Saturday Night Live skit written by Don Novello, and featuring the late John Belushi, based on Novello’s visits to the Billy Goat Tavern in Chicago. The tavern sued for trademark infringement when a restaurant opened in Chicago. The Billy Goat agreed to drop its trademark-infringement lawsuit against the chain in exchange for the no Cheeburger Cheeburger restaurants within a 125-mile radius of downtown Chicago.
There are five sizes of Cheeburgers (from five to 20 ounces uncooked) to choose from and then comes the fun of choosing cheeses and toppings to add to it. The menu also includes grilled chicken, veggie burger, and salads. Fries and onion rings — separate or served on one plate, are also available. Kids meals are served in classic cruiser cut-out cars.
Cheeburger Cheeburger restaurants emphasis fresh bread and non-frozen meat. Lim’s restaurant gets all the bread from Italian People’s Bakery in Trenton. The beef is certified 100 percent Black Angus and comes from Creekstone Farms in Arkansas City, Kansas.
“It’s a lot of fun and the menu of hamburgers, fries, and milkshakes are icons of American food,” says Lim, who continues to experiment with egg cream recipes. “I’ve had older people come into the restaurant and have tears in their eyes when they tell me that they haven’t had an egg cream in 25 years.” Lim has even bought the traditional Fox’s U-Bet Syrup after reading recipes on the Internet.
Seven Mercer County libraries including Lawrenceville, Ewing, West Windsor, Hickory Corner, Hopewell, Washington, and Hollowbrook, are connected with Cheeburger Cheeburger this summer through their summer reading programs.
Finish the pounder and have your photo taken for the wall of fame. For kids, finish the half pounder to have your photo taken. The pounder board is already full. 65 for the first week, 91 for the second, and 54 for the third week — for a total of 210.
When the doors opened for the first time, Nick Feibel and Adam Smith, both of West Windsor, were waiting to get in. They had a contest between them to see who could finish a pounder first. Nick won and was the first to have his photo on the wall.
“We do not promote contests for the pounder or the half pounder,” Lim says. “Guests simply like them and we like to think of it as a novelty item. However, there are also a handful of folks who have done the two pounder — something we never promote but somehow guests ask.”
Born in Manila, the Philippines, to business professional parents, he came to the United States when he was 23. Lim graduated from La Salle University as an industrial engineer with a minor in mechanical engineering and worked in the IT field for more than 25 years as a database specialist for companies including Prudential Financial, Merrill Lynch, Bristol Myers-Squibb, AT&T, Revlon, Becton-Dickinson, and Unisys.
“Running the restaurant is my own thing and I’m doing it myself as opposed to someone telling me what to do,” says Lim. “The phone is still ringing off the hook with offers to return to the corporate world.” Lim, who is only saying no for now, has not completely ruled out a return in the future.
His wife, Vivian, works for Merrill Lynch in Hopewell as a business analyst. Although Lim was born and raised in the Philippines, both he and his wife are of Chinese descent and still have relatives in China.
Their daughter, Veronica, a graduate of High School South, Class of 2005, is a rising senior at Swarthmore College. She wants to be doctor and is now in Beijing on a summer program. Their son, Jonathan, a graduate of High School South, Class of 2005, is a rising sophomore at Emory University. He has plans for a career in business. — Lynn Miller
Grand Opening, Cheeburger Cheeburger, 3349 Brunswick Pike, Lawrenceville, 609-799-2222. Family activities including a clown, face painting, and balloons. Saturday, August 26, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The restaurant is open Monday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; and Sunday, noon to 8 p.m. The take-out order line is 609-799-2222 and orders may be faxed to 609-799-4040.
