When you think American food, you think burger. When I think burger, I think Betty Burgers. Not everyone can make an incredibly juicy, bursting-with-flavor burger, but Betty comes out on top! We are big fans of Betty Burgers as you can tell, but the fan club is pretty big, and anyone can join! They have been so popular that they recently opened a new location in Aptos, to add to their other three Santa Cruz locations.
From the start, Betty Burgers has served only fresh, pasture-raised beef with no antibiotics or hormones (EVER). The homemade veggie burgers are delicious, and they also have chicken, turkey and salmon patties. It’s hard to decide between their crispy fries or sweet potato fries, so sometimes you just need a bit of both. With Santa Cruz Doors shining the spotlight on some of our local businesses that have been able remain open during the shelter-in-place, we hope you can bring Betty some love and swing by for what they call “Juicy Patties & Hot Buns.”
Here is our interview with owner Laurie Negro:
Tell us how long you’ve been in business here?
14 years ago we opened the first Betty’s on Seabright Ave. Betty Burger on 41st followed four years later. Betty’s Eat Inn opened downtown eight years ago. The Aptos location opened March 20, 2020 :)
How did you get started?
We had a taqueria in the Seabright location that was not doing well. We needed to make a change. Gourmet burgers we’re just starting to catch on in other areas. I thought if we branded it well, burgers would fly.
Prior to opening, I had a shoe store named Gemma shoes that I sold. The profit was used to reinvent the space. I hired Mimi Snowden, a renowned chef and interior designer to lead a team to build a unique brand and menu concept. We turned the taqueria into Betty’s and never looked back.
What do you love about Aptos/Santa Cruz?
My roots are here. My great-grandfather came from Italy in the early 1920s. My family has been in Santa Cruz ever since. I love the community, I love the aesthetics and natural, beauty and I love the proximity to everything. There’s no place I would rather be.
How has your business been affected by the pandemic and shelter-in-place?
My business has been affected in many ways. I had to close the downtown location as it is a sit down restaurant. We do not have a curb for pickup and most business are closed. 41st and Seabright had to adjust to all take out. It is much more time intensive especially answering the phones Aptos opened as the pandemic was already in motion.
My business is down more than 50%. That said I’m thankfully still employing about 40 people. I am hoping to bring more of our team back soon when we can reopen Betty’s Eat Inn and business picks up with the nicer weather. Some employees left as their parents are compromised or they were nervous being close to others but they will return. Others were payed off and are wanting to come back as soon as possible.
How have you made adjustments and how can we as a community support you?
The learning curve has been steep and we have done our best. Perfect no, but we improve daily. The lack of masks and sanitizer has been a real challenge. The community can support us by wearing masks and socially distancing by 6 feet when visiting any of our locations. That has been a very difficult thing to manage at times. They can also be kind and patient with my team as we are operating in a very different and difficult environment.
What are your favorite dishes that you serve? Or customer fave?
I absolutely love our grilled chicken with avocado added! The Basic Betty is by far the burger we sell the most although the Texas two step and the Mad Mex are wildly popular. It’s very hard to pick a favorite as all the specialty burgers sell extremely well.
Website: BettyBurgers.com
Facebook: Betty Burgers
Instagram: bettyburgers