EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — An El Paso native has succeeded in creating a burger business in Austin, which is inspired by the El Paso culture and other cultures around the country.
Morris Pittle, owner of Jewboy Burgers Restaurant and five other locations that focus on sliders, says his business started off as a culture-based marketing concept.
Pittle says the five other locations, Jewboy Sliders, are located at different entertainment districts around the city, two of them being trailers and three of them located within existing bars.
Pittle says he was born in Cleveland, and his family ended up moving to El Paso as his father was a physician.
“Back in the early 70s, the Jewish community (in El Paso) was very welcoming.”
Pittle grew up in the Borderland, specifically in West El Paso, where he came to know many local staples in the city, such as Kiki’s Mexican Restaurant, Roscoe’s, Leo’s Mexican Restaurant, Rafa’s Burritos, and more.
Pittle says he has a love for El Paso food and took inspiration from those places to create the menu for Jewboy Burger.
Pittle says the restaurant decor also represents the El Paso culture, along with other cultures he’s experienced as he’s lived all around the country.
Pittle says the name Jewboy comes from his background, as he grew up Jewish and was known as “El Jewboy” in the El Paso community.
Pittle says that before he owned Jewboy Burgers, he owned an ad agency in El Paso for 12 years, and before that, he worked at large ad agencies around the country, and went to school for creative marketing in Austin.
“When you’re in marketing, you learn to look into culture much deeper than most people, because that’s the best way to contact and communicate with somebody is to really make a connection with their culture.”
Pittle says when he moved to Austin, he was surprised to see that there was an El Paso representation and connection there.
“It really was amazing to me how much of a connection the two cities have, and people don’t think that way.”
Pittle says he took inspiration specifically from Roscoe’s in Northeast El Paso on how they make their burgers.
A Jewboy Burger is a diner-style cheesburger that’s pressed onto a griddle with grilled onions.
“We use fresh ground beef. It’s been Angus 80/20. It has to be fresh. You do not want your ground beef thawed. It really is a big deal. I use 80/20, which is more lean than most people do because of those onions.”
Pittle says they also have other burgers on the menu, and they also make their own pastrami in-house for their pastrami burger.
The spot also offers flautas, latkes, which is a Jewish hashbrown/potato pancake that can come as a side to the burgers. They also offer crinkle cut fries, tater tots, onion rings, burritos, and hand-drawn shakes made with real ice cream.
Pittle says he’s received positive feedback from the community and enjoys hearing what the community has to say.
“I can tell you that the response from my end has been fantastic because people tell me that, and that’s all I really want. “
Pittle says that the business is currently succeeding and that he looks at success as a destination. He also adds that he experimented with different food options to see what fits the menu best.
“If it tastes good, I do it.”
Pittle says he occasionally works on marketing projects, but his priority is his business.
To check out Jewboy Burgers, click here: https://jewboyburgers.com/.
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