Build-your-own burger restaurant opens in Lexington near I-75, new soccer stadium
There’s a new build-your-own burger restaurant in Lexington that offers more than 20 free toppings to help stack your single-, double- or triple-decker hamburger.
JJ burgers and fries opened in early November down the road from Lexington Sporting Club’s new soccer stadium in a historic building that dates back to the 1940s.
Jose Carmona, who has 20 years of experience working in burger restaurants including opening Homerun Burger locations in Louisville, says the build-your-own model is his restaurant’s passion — whether the customer wants bacon or eggs on their burger.
“We just try to bring to the customer whatever you’re thinking, we need it,” said Carmona, who opened the restaurant three months after finding its listing on Facebook. “All the people around here have been saying, ‘Hey, we can wait for you to open.’ So they motivated me.”
The restaurant is in Athens, an unincorporated community in southern Fayette County, on Athens Boonesboro Road, 1 1/2 miles from the I-75 interchange. JJ’s and Athens Lunchroom, in the historic Athens Schoolhouse, are the only restaurants in the small community.
Gina Cummins, who owns JJ’s building, and even helps out in the restaurant, said it was built by her grandparents. Up until about 10 years ago, it was a grocery and deli store, then a series of restaurants, most recently Boonedocks Grill & Market.
“Everybody’s getting to know it again,” said Cummins, who is counting on traffic from the new soccer stadium. “It’s a little off the beach, you know? So we get a lot of people traveling through here.”
What is on JJ burgers and fries menu?
Free toppings for JJ’s includes standard burger fare from lettuce to grilled onions. But it also includes sauerkraut. A single flame burger is $6.25, while a double is $7.25.
Carmona said all the ingredients for the burgers are fresh, and the potatoes for the french fries are cut daily. There are five spice options for seasoning for the fries ($3 small, $4 large): Cajun, Parmesan, garlic Parmesan, salt and pepper and Lawry’s Seasoned Salt.
And the burgers aren’t the only thing menu item that comes with fresh ingredients. They also serve chicken, steak or pastor street tacos ($3.25 a piece).
JJ burgers and fries
Where: 6421 Athens Boonesboro Rd.
Hours: 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Mon.-Sat.
This story was originally published November 25, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
