 "Photo: Courtesy of Corwin Wickersham")
In a small, unremarkable white shack on Route 273 hides a grill, a blender and a few tables adorned with ketchup bottles and containers of Old Bay seasoning. It is here that Newark residents can purchase homemade milkshakes, freshly-prepared fries and the best burgers in Newark.
The walls of Jake's Hamburgers are decorated with framed awards declaring the quality of the products served there. The atmosphere is quiet and unassuming, as the food speaks for itself.
"It's simple," sophomore Brion Abel says. "It's like, get your burger and eat it."
Sean Smedley, vice president of Jake's and co-founder of the chain, says the store in Newark was opened in 1991 and is the original Jake's Hamburgers. Smedley and his friend and business partner John Carter, president of Jake's, started the business after tiring of work in the corporate world.
"We decided to start a food business and we found that place on 273 which was just a major little bump," he says. "Nothing was in there, just a guy selling baseball cards. We had a vision that we would put out a great product and people would come."
They did.
Smedley credits the university with a majority of Jake's success. When the store first opened, he says, most of the business was lunch traffic from nearby factories and people driving by.
"The university has been huge for us," Smedley says. "Sixteen years ago, The Review did a restaurant review on us. We were the first place in two years to get an 'A,' and all of a sudden at like 10 a.m. on a Friday there were 200 college kids outside. We had no idea what The Review even was, but it just exploded."
Although Smedley says he can't reveal any secrets to the burgers' popularity, he does attribute much of their success to the freshness of the food. The beef is delivered fresh each day, he says, and the burgers are made only after the customer orders them.
"Your food is never going to be under heat lamps," Smedley says. "Even french fries, if they're six minutes old, we throw them out. No one's going to get cold fries. Milkshakes are made the old fashioned way. The syrup has real fruit and [the milkshakes have] real milk, and we're still making them with blenders."
Junior David McCoy and sophomore Cristina Valcarcel both agree Jake's burgers are better than those found on Main Street.
"I love burgers in general," McCoy says. "They should have a Jake's in Trabant. That would bring up the 'Freshman 15.' "
"Yeah, by another 15," Valcarcel says as she enjoys her first Jake's burger experience.
Smedley says he is proud of the award and is excited to be acknowledged by the university students who provide his restaurant with so much business.
"We've been voted best burger from The News Journal," he says, "but it's great to get it from the town where it all started."
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