The Burger Boys

Photo By Josh Hyun ’27

Liesl went to find out what the ridiculous-sounding "Tron Burgers" was all about, and she reluctantly fell in love with the operation. Lots of room here for distinctive and fun visuals. Ideally we get a bold photographer to attend Blake Burgers and get some fantastic close-ups. If that's not possible, we could just schedule a time to photo Zach, Edward and Aaron holding burgers. Anyone working on this should consult with Ben.

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Liesl Barry ’26

I didn’t want a burger but I had a story to write.

There I was at Tron Burgers, which is now Blake Burgers, trying to avoid the suffocating clouds of juicy smoke coming from the grill. In the winter months, 7:30 feels like 10 pm, and I wondered how anyone would possibly want to be here. After all, it's just burgers being made by teenage boys. Three of them stood in a line or maybe it was just a clump. They had a doubtful but overriding hopefulness about them as they stood there waiting for their first customers to arrive. But maybe “customers” isn’t the right word to use. Customers implies that the Burger Boys are making money, but don’t be fooled. This is a free operation. Plastic tables were set up with toppings of all sorts, but what caught my attention immediately was the very large hunk of burgers that sat on that table. Right above it was a menu on a whiteboard shoved into the bushes, like actually, they shoved it into the branches of this poor bush. The menu had specials on it, like one where you could add bacon on your burger and even some other stuff too. It had illustrations and color – it was charming and made you feel like you were in a little beach side restaurant except you weren’t because you were freezing. 

Zach Yen was the first guy I talked to. He’s a chill guy from California. He’s about my height or maybe a little bit taller, but his hair definitely gives him a few inches. This dude was full of energy. Every word he said was bouncing, like quite literally bouncing. He was stoked for an interview. “Oh yeah this is great I’m such a good yapper,” he said, and then he told me the story of the blaring fire alarms. 

They’d started cooking burgers in the Tron dorm kitchen for their buddies. Their cooking skills challenged the fire safety codes and, in the end, the vent above the stove just couldn’t take it anymore. Tron kitchen just wasn't going to cut it. They moved to the grill outside of Tron, but with this new location they wanted new customers, a bigger crowd. They created an instagram account. They posted images and videos showing the genuine Tron burgers experience. Like, close ups of people eating the freshly made burgers with wild music in the background, lights flashing, and overall good vibes. Was Tron Burgers really this cool, or were these boys just good at making some sick videos? Were the burgers THAT delicious? As much as I myself doubted these efforts and thought it would fail, I’m surprised to say I was wrong. 

Photo By Josh Hyun ’27

 “The first time I went to Tron burgers,” said Isabella Tewodros, a freshman, “there was, like, a lot of people. Everybody was rushing, and I saw all the toppings. I got a bacon cheeseburger with pickles and everything. It was perfect, medium rare. They just got it so perfect.” 

But then Kim Shearer, Campus Dean, discovered Tron burgers. Isabella described the scene. “Kim comes and she's like, ‘Are you guys charging for these burgers?!’ Kim was like, ‘Well, from now on, these better be free.’” 

“It was a beautiful burger,” said Isabella, ravenously smiling with her cheeks close to her eyes. I, too, started to smile.

I asked Kim what it was like to discover Tron Burgers. “I didn’t even know what [Tron Burgers] was until I was shown an Instagram post that had been sent out,” she said. “As students came back from Tron, they were telling me how good it was, so I decided to check it out. It looked like everyone was having a good time and enjoying the company of others while eating some burgers.” Kim asked the Burger Boys if they were charging for the burgers, and they told her they were. The Burger Boys weren't allowed to charge, so she asked them to stop. “They were very understanding about the situation,” said Kim. This was the first time Tron burgers had been discovered by an adult. Before this moment, it was a fully student-led operation with no guidelines, which was half the fun. It was a crucial turning point for the future of Tron burgers. The Burger Boys were taken to the dean's office, not to get Tron Burgers shut down, but rather to find a solution for how their operation could continue. From then on, Weekend Activities would fund the spread of burgers campus-wide, and there would be a venue change. Tron Burgers was now Blake Burgers.  

Zach, Edward O’Malley and Aaron Van Epps stood there tapping their feet that Friday night, outside on the Blake concrete. I'm not sure if it was because they were cold, but I'm sure they never would have admitted it, even if that was the reason. They were just so pumped to be there. These boys had gone through it: they’d changed locations, changed names and in some ways even changed their whole entire gimmick, and yet they were still there. “You know, how easy it would have been to be like, ‘No, we're not getting paid. Let's not do it,’” Zach said. “But we were like, ‘Let's try it for a week.’ We tried it. We kind of remembered why we loved it, you know.” 

Meredith Durkee, an English teacher, hopped into line, ready to get a burger. “Wendy's recently came out with a Krabby Patty burger,” she said, “and I was looking forward to a Tron Burger more than a Krabby Patty burger.” Edward handed her a burger. Her face beamed with excitement. But then, and I'm not sure how to fit this in, but I feel like you need to know: Meredith dropped her burger. There it was on the hard, cold concrete ground. She was devastated and so was I. She looked down at the scattered pieces of bun and meat on the ground as if she had just accidentally killed a puppy. Edward O’Mally saw this incident and insisted that he make her a new burger. They held up the line until her burger was made just right, put on all the same glorious toppings and handed it to her. 

“Burgers are God's gift to Americans for all the suffering they have experienced as a species,” Meredith told me. Then, she ate her burger.  

No matter how you or I see Tron Burgers, the truth is the Burger Boys commitment to community, kindness, and generosity is extraordinary. As my interview with Zach was wrapping up, still next to the smoky grill, but now with a line of people behind us, he said, “There's not a lot going on the weekends. It's kind of boring. And you know, this is something we like. We just like cooking food. And we used to do it for money, but we now we do it for the community.” 

I had doubts about Tron Burgers. I thought it would be boring and anti-climatic, maybe just lame, but I was wrong, so wrong, and I couldn’t be more happy to say that. Community  provides comfort and connection, even with unfamiliar people, and stability in moments when it feels hard to find that within yourself. All you need to do is add in some burgers and, man, you have just created a masterpiece. “Look at these people,” said Meredith. “These are people that would probably never otherwise communicate with each other.” And that’s the importance of Blake burgers. So next time you’re free on a Friday night, get yourself up, even if it takes some groaning, just like it did for me. Walk over to Blake. Let the  smoke waft back to you as you eagerly stand in line, and once it's finally your turn, feel the warm bun on your cold hands. Go ahead, take your first bite.