By Rich Bockmann
Bayside’s got a new burger joint, where the owner is betting that down-home fare and familiar faces will create a friendly, inviting atmosphere.
“Everyone wants a burger — and a good one,” said Bell Burgr owner Steve Georgalos. The life-long Bayside resident said that when Pita Pan closed last year, he thought the location on the corner of 40th Avenue and Bell Boulevard would be the perfect spot for what he called “a real neighborhood burger joint.”
It was some time before the restaurant opened in late April that he called Verizon to secure the restaurant’s phone number: 718-279-BRGR (2771).
“It was success No. 1, right off the bat,” he said.
Georgalos said the one frill on the menu is the Pat LaFrieda blend beef, which is used by restaurants such as Shake Shack and Minetta Tavern in Manhattan.
“We’re the only ones in Queens using his stuff. It’s a little more pricey, but much better quality,” Georgalos said.
Customers can have the Angus and prime blend one of three ways: the Bell Burgr ($5.50), the Bell Cheeseburgr ($6.50) or the Rock the Bells Burgr ($8), which is topped with cheddar cheese, bacon and strips of onion. French fries are hand-cut and the house-made dips come in citrus aioli, creamy horseradish, mustard, barbecue and yaki. House-made lemonade or one of four draft beers will help wash the 5-ounce burgers down.
When asked how he would describe the restaurant, Georgalos looked around and characterized the interior as “rustic barn,” slapping his hand on one of the long, wooden tables that looked sturdy enough to stand up to the worst raucous and rowdy diners can dish out.
“Come in and have a beer. That’s our theme,” he said.
Georgalos said he learned the restaurant business working nearly 40 years in his family’s Ridgewood diner and described the staff at Bell Burgr as his extended family.
“It’s like my own basketball team,” he said, referring to the employees whom he used to coach in the Greek youth basketball league at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church on the corner of Northern Boulevard and 196th Street.
Angelo Litourgis, 20, an employee, was told as the small power forward that his coach’s word was law.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he shouted from behind the counter.
Peter Halkias smiled as his coach/boss evaluated him as a shooting guard.
“Some days were good; some were bad. He and Angelo are always in competition,” Georgalos said.
Reach reporter Rich Bockmann by e-mail at rbockmann@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4574.
