Firefighter, CHP Officer Open Restaurant Serving Burgers With A Side Of Public Service

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – From fighting fires to firing up the grill. And from issuing tickets to taking orders. Twin brothers and first responders, Jonathan and Matthew Burgess, have opened up a new burger joint in the Capitol City.

Their business model: serving burgers while also serving the community.

Jonathan Burgess is a Battalion Chief with the Sacramento Fire Department. His brother, Matthew, is an officer with the California Highway Patrol. The two just opened up Burgess Brothers Burger, a new restaurant across the street from Sacramento State University.

"Our food is good and I wanted everyone to have that," explained Matthew.

So opening a restaurant and serving up burgers was a no-brainer. And so was coming up with names for their fare.

"The Squad Burger, a Rescue Burger, it's got a grilled pineapple on it. A Brown Out burger. The code four in police terms you cancel, right? So cancel the beef you get a portabella mushroom," Jonathan said describing their menu.

And while their main jobs are serving the public, the two say it doesn't stop when they're at Burgess Brothers Burger.

"We take the opportunity to mentor some of the youth that are looking to go into public service, you know. Whatever it is and a lot of our employees are college students, so it gives us the opportunity to give back and to mentor at the same time," said Matthew.

The twin brothers' passion for cooking is already attracting long lines outside their burger joint.
And they say as long as the customers keep coming, they'll be serving burgers with a side of public service.

"We're committed to service whether we're here at the restaurant or whether we're in our normal professions," said Matthew. "So that's what people see."

For the next two weeks, the Burgess twins say they'll be donating some of their profits to the family of a CHP officer gunned down during a traffic stop last week.