Gourmet burger chain BurgerFi opens at Emory Point

The gourmet burger chain BurgerFi opened for business Tuesday at the Emory Point development on Clif…

The gourmet burger chain BurgerFi opened for business Tuesday at the Emory Point development on Clifton Road.

Joe Tuma, owner of the franchise, said that lunch business was strong on the first day and operations were smooth.

BurgerFi specializes in gourmet burgers that are made to order. Tuma said the grass-fed Angus beef is never frozen and none of the meals are pre-made. Unlike fast-food chains, he said, BurgerFi's 's goal is to have an order served 7-9 minutes after the customer's order is placed.

'It's going very well," Tuma said after Tuesday's lunch rush. "The average ticket time was around 7 minutes."

BurgerFi pledges that its stores have a "low carbon footprint," including furniture made from recycled milk cartons and other repurposed materials. Menu offerings inclue Kobe beef hot dogs, hand-cut French fries, craft beer and wine.

Tuma said the idea is to provide high-quality, all-natural food that's still reasonably fast. "We want to bring this back to when our parents were eating burgers -- no chemicals."

Emory Point is a residential-retail project across from the Centers for Disease Control and just down the street from Emory University.

Several restaurants have opened recently, including Tin Lizzy's and The General Muir.

An Indian cafe, Paradise Biryani Pointe, has delayed its opening and is shooting for mid- to late May. Sweet Monkey Frozen Yogurt and Cupcakes is scheduled to open in early June.