Portage la Prairie’s first-ever Burger Days saw 14 restaurants produce thousands of burgers in a week, generating over $100,000 in revenue.<\/p>\n
People bought over 7,500 burgers during the city’s first competition of its kind, which ran from June 7 through 13. The Portage Regional Tourism Committee hosted the event, and the Portage la Prairie & District Chamber of Commerce sponsored it.<\/p>\n “We could not have asked for a better result,” said Kellie Verwey, a member of the tourism committee and the economic development co-ordinator for Portage Regional Economic Development.<\/p>\n The challenge came during Manitoba’s third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Restaurants were closed to in-person dining, and they were working with reduced staff.<\/p>\n Even so, they showed up, and so did customers, Verwey said. She tried 13 of the 17 Burger Days offerings.<\/p>\n “Everywhere we went to pick up burgers, there was always people waiting, and everyone was talking about the event,” she said. “It was always, ‘What have you tried?’ It was such a positive buzz throughout the community.”<\/p>\n The over $100,000 in revenue that circulated during the week was much needed for the restaurant industry, Verwey said. It was also a distraction from the ongoing barrage of virus case counts, vaccinations and deaths.<\/p>\n “(Burger Days) was top of mind for everybody,” Verwey said. “It was a needed break, and it was just a huge morale booster in the community.”<\/p>\n Around 1,500 people voted for their favourite submissions online. Mole Guacamole, a Mexican food hub, came in first. The guacamole, pico de gallo and chipotle aioli-topped burger garnered 366 votes. <\/p>\n Folks awarded the silver medal to Oriental Pearl’s dragon burger, which received 240 votes. Heatz’s spicy bacon creation, called the rocky burger, took third with 227 votes.<\/p>\n “I never, never thought we would win,” said Alicia Munoz, co-owner of Mole Guacamole.<\/p>\n She, her son and two grandkids pumped out between 1,200 to 1,300 burgers over the course of the week — on top of regular orders.<\/p>\n “It’s stressful, but we enjoyed it,” Munoz said.<\/p>\n The family-owned business opened roughly seven months before Manitoba’s first COVID-19 related lockdown. Since then, it’s been tough, Munoz said.<\/p>\n “So many people, they (didn’t) know about us,” she said. “Now they know, and they come back.”<\/p>\n During Burger Days, 63 per cent of people visiting Mole Guacamole were new customers, Munoz said. The family uses Square for transactions; the company tracks who’s returning and who’s new. <\/p>\n
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