Chris and Nicole Carver, husband and wife co-owners of Tonyburgers, say they enjoy working together. Before deciding to go into the restaurant business, they built spec homes in Park City.
Three years ago, they decided to change career fields, but wanted to find something they could still do as a team. Since they both enjoy eating out with friends and family, they began to explore the food industry by traveling the United States in search of the best hamburgers.
When they happened upon outstanding burgers, they pried recipes and tips from other restaurant owners and cooks, then set out to improve upon what they learned.
In May of 2008, the result of their research was the opening of Tonyburgers in Centerville -- named after a younger brother -- a restaurant that combines the best of both worlds for those who like all-American burgers and those who are a little more health-conscious.
Thirteen months later, in June 2009, their restaurant was doing so well that they added a second location in Salt Lake City.
The burger side of the menu is simple: Pick a size from 1/4 pound to 1/2 pound of meat ($3.75-$5.75); pick from American, cheddar or Swiss cheese (59 cents); and add fixings such as lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onions, jalapenos, mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, grilled onions, barbecue sauce, ranch or Tony's special recipe sauce. Bacon is also available (75 cents).
The fries are hand-cut and fried twice. The first frying cooks the inside; they are then cooled and fried again to make the outside extra crispy.
"It really does make our fries crispier and better," said Nicole Carver.
Their shakes ($3.99) are hand-spun from hard-packed ice cream. Flavors include vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, caramel, cookies-n-crîme, strawberry, coconut and Bear Lake raspberry. They provide extra-wide straws for the super-thick shakes.
On the salad side of the menu, Nicole Carver said to expect quality, fresh ingredients. The choices include Apples and Candied Walnuts ($6.79), Caprese Pleasy ($6.99) and Laura's Favorite ($6.79), the latter a combination of spinach leaves, gorgonzola, glazed pecans, cranberries, red onion and balsamic vinaigrette. All of the dressings are made from scratch.
Both Nicole and Chris like to be hands-on in the restaurants, with Nicole preferring to manage and Chris enjoying time at the grill.
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