They set the bar 10 years ago with the Spalding’s burger; can you tackle a $75 version?
The Library of Congress credits Danish immigrant Louis Lassen of New Haven, Connecticut with selling the first hamburger in 1900.
Fast-forward 120 years and Joe and Rachelle Collins, owners of Lexington’s Bad Wolf Burgers, are still experimenting with the classic hamburger as they mark the popular restaurant’s 10th anniversary. Their never-ending mission is building better burgers.
Americans eat nearly 50 billion burgers each year and next to basketball and bourbon, there is not much Lexingtonians enjoy more than a thick, juicy burger.
The proof is in the numbers. The Collins’ calculate they have sold 200,000 burgers — 20,000 burgers each year. There is also a fish sandwich, a grilled chicken sandwich, and a BLT on the menu, but burgers are clearly the star attraction. In fact, the menu features fourteen different “fiercely crafted” combinations; available in your choice of six- or 12-ounces. Since the pandemic began, more customers are ordering the 12-oz. burgers than ever before.
Among the standouts are ‘The Spalding’ — served on a glazed yeast doughnut from Lexington’s Spalding Bakery — to the Cajun Burger — to the namesake burger, ‘The Bad Wolf,’ a blackened seasoned patty topped with bacon, beer cheese and onion straws.
The restaurant’s name, “Bad Wolf,” is a nod to the twelfth episode of the British science fiction television series, “Doctor Who.” Joe and Rachelle are big fans of the series.
Joe concocted The Spalding during March Madness in 2011. Inspired by the surname of the man who invented the world’s first basketball, Spalding — and the fact that Spalding Bakery’s doughnuts were already so popular in Lexington — Joe hit upon a burger that would put Bad Wolf on the map. Nine years later, Bad Wolf has sold a total of 16,848 of them and counting.
The melt in your mouth doughnuts are specially made by Spalding’s Bakery with a smaller hole than found in traditional Spalding doughnuts to better contain the burger’s contents.
People come from out of state to try The Spalding, notes Rachelle. “There have been tears shed when we have run out of doughnuts.”
Off the menu, there is the ‘Adipose Beast Burger’ — and no one has ever successfully finished it to date. Made of six 6-oz. burger patties individually topped with thick cut smoked bacon, an egg and cheese, and capped off with an oversized Spalding’s doughnut as the bun, it requires five days’ notice for purchase so that Bad Wolf can special order the enormous doughnut from Spalding’s Bakery. Menu price: $75, including fries.
Not that hungry? There is the Quadruple Bypass Burger, also available upon request, consisting of four six-oz. burgers, stacked high and individually topped with bacon, an egg and cheese. Price: $20.
The most recent invention is another off the menu item: The Lobo-style Burger. “The best damn burger we serve,” according to Joe. A twist on the traditional Bad Wolf, served up in grilled burrito fashion rather than on a conventional bun. The result is a crispy, crunchy, tasty texture.
Bad Wolf also sells its own homemade beer cheese, and recently began offering its own ‘Woof’ hot sauce; a proprietary tangy ketchup-based blend made by Sadistic Mistress Sauces in Versailles.
This fall, the Collins are considering bringing back some comfort food items from the Meadowthorpe Café — the forerunner to Bad Wolf Burgers — including homemade soups, meatloaf, broccoli and cheese casserole, and assorted desserts.
Like many other restaurants, Bad Wolf’s bottom-line has been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’ve lost approximately one-third of our normal business. But we are lucky to have some very loyal customers,” notes Rachelle. “Downtown professionals, LexMark and UK employees, blue collar and construction workers alike.”
Many University of Kentucky football players are also regulars and women enjoy the burgers just as much as their male counterparts, according to Joe.
Big 7 Travel recently voted Bad Wolf Burgers No. 1 on their list of “The 7 Best Burgers in Lexington.”
The Collins have taken advantage of the recent down time to redecorate the restaurant’s interior and give it a new coat of paint and a more comfortable feel. A new digital menu board is also in the offing as they prepare for indoor dining once again.
Rachelle’s daughter, McKaela, recently pitched in and reupholstered each of the restaurant’s chairs. The same chairs that were once used at Lexington’s former T.W. Lee’s restaurant.
Joe and Rachelle are willing to do whatever it takes to ensure Bad Wolf remains a success story. For now, it is just the two of them working in the restaurant. From sunup to sundown. Since mid-March, Rachelle has personally cooked every burger sold.
Due to supply-line shortages, the couple have struggled to source ground beef, cheese, and most recently hamburger buns. But despite the challenges, the Collins are nowhere near ready to throw in the towel. They simply enjoy the burger business far too much.
What might ‘retirement’ be like for the couple someday? “Perhaps a Bad Wolf Burgers food truck,” Joe notes with a laugh.
Bad Wolfe Burgers
Where: 350 Foreman Avenue, Lexington
Hours: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. Closed Sunday and Monday.
Contact: (859) 286-9889 or bad-wolf-burgers.business.site
This story was originally published September 22, 2020 at 6:00 AM.