Nothing standard about Standard Burger, new to Bay Ridge

Staten Island’s loss is Brooklyn’s gain. The award-winning Standard Burger restaurant is moving to 8812 Third Avenue in Bay Ridge.

The restaurant, originally started by five friends, opened in 2012 on Hylan Blvd. in Great Kills. In 2015, it was featured on an episode of CNBC’s “The Profit,” when show host Marcus Lemonis visited the then-struggling eatery, invested in it and helped revive it. That same year it won the Time Out New York Battle of the Burger competition for its popular Texan burger.

In December, 2017, Todd Baslin, one of Standard’s original owners, and Dimitrios Verteouris, a successful restaurateur who founded Bay Ridge and Downtown Brooklyn’s popular Nature’s Grill restaurants with his brother Taso, decided to give Standard Burger a fresh start in Brooklyn.

Baslin and Verteouris were old friends when Baslin called on Verteouris for his restaurant expertise. “I was immediately intrigued by the concept,” Verteouris said. “It was beautifully built, the food was really good and I felt that the service was good as well. I took a month or two to think about it and decided to give it a six-month shot and learn about the business.”

Verteouris’ goal was to reinvent the restaurant by making it a destination for the best burgers available. His mantra was “top quality, quick service, good price,” and he admits that it was a difficult undertaking. The first thing they decided on was moving it to a more populated location. “Where it was, was a destination place and there’s too much competition when it comes to hamburgers, French fries and hot dogs in that part of Staten Island.”

Rather than compete with other burger franchises, Verteouris felt that his product would be better served in an area that was lacking a quality burger restaurant. And what makes Standard Burger different from other restaurants in the neighborhood is that they only focus on one thing.

“We are specifically here to sell hamburgers, hot dogs, French fries and milkshakes,” Verteouris said. “Yes, we do have craft beer, but we will only use Brooklyn beer.”

Cost is another factor that Verteouris is adamant about. He promises that customers will be able to get a burger, French fries and a soda for $9. And Standard Burger will only be serving top quality meat from Pat LaFrieda Meat Purveyors. Additionally, they will also have the opportunity to create their own burgers with a variety of toppings.

“Some other places charge over $15 for a burger,” Verteouris said. “You can go to a diner and pay $17 for a hamburger deluxe. I personally don’t feel that a hamburger should be super expensive. It’s one of the oldest sandwiches we have in America and 50 percent of Americans eat hamburgers on a daily basis.”  

Verteouris is projecting a possible soft opening for Standard Burger on July 4 with a definite guaranteed opening on July 13, the first night of the Bay Ridge Summer Stroll. “We will be doing a burger eating contest on that night,” Verteouris said. “There will be a cash prize for the winner and it will be a big event for us. We’re real excited about that.”