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Murray Journal

JCW's specializes in quality burgers and exemplary customer service

Feb 22, 2022 09:31AM ● By Peri Kinder

There’s almost nothing more satisfying than a quality burger, and JCW’s - The Burger Boys, is one of the best in the business. With three restaurants in Utah County, and two in Salt Lake County, JCW’s shares its love of good food, quality ingredients and community.

“We’re locally owned and operated,” said owner Chris Williams. “People don’t expect the quality they get at our place.”

Chris and his brother Clay are the Burger Boys. They opened their first JCW’s in 1998 in American Fork, but they were no stranger to the restaurant industry. 

“I’ve been in the restaurant business since I was 12,” Chris says. “Our Greek neighbor had a restaurant and when I was 12, Clay and I started working for him. They were the hardest working people I know and we learned so much from them.”

Once JCW’s popularity began to grow, the brothers opened stores in Lehi, Provo, South Jordan and Herriman. The name has evolved from JCW’s (the owners’ initials) to Just Can’t Wait and finally to the tagline, The Burger Boys. 

Specializing in quality burgers and exemplary customer service, JCW’s quality ingredients set their restaurant apart from other burger places. Customers get a sit-down restaurant experience offered at a great price for Utah’s large families. The business pioneered table delivery instead of waiting for a customer’s name or number to be called.

All burgers are made with a third-pound of ground chuck and charbroiled to perfection. Gourmet burgers on the menu include the pastrami burger, a guacamole bacon swiss burger, a hickory BBQ bacon burger and a jalapeno burger topped with freshly grilled jalapeno peppers.

JCW’s also makes fresh salads, and hot or cold sandwiches served on delicious sourdough bread. With halibut fish and chips, chicken fingers, buffalo wings and a fun kid’s menu, there’s something for everyone in the family. 

Be sure to save room for dessert because the thick shakes at JCW’s come in dozens of flavors. Ice cream sundaes, floats and cones are also a big hit. For more menu information, visit JCWs.com

“We want to be the Cheers of burgers, without the alcohol,” Chris says. “We want to know all of our customers' names and support each other.”

Chris and Clay return that love to their communities, sponsoring high school football and drill teams, and supporting community events. Chris, a Sandy resident, said when the pandemic closed stores in the spring of 2020, his loyal customer base stepped up to keep the restaurant afloat. 

“It was like the carpet was pulled out from underneath us,” Chris says. “But then customers would stop in to buy gift cards to use in the future. They just wanted to help keep us open.”

During the COVID shutdown, JCW’s converted its restaurants to 100% take-out orders, adapting on the fly to ensure they offered the same quality products, even when times were tough. With 200 employees on the payroll, Chris and Clay took their responsibility seriously, finding ways to make things work. They even brought in a shipment of toilet paper for their employees when the product was hard to find on grocery shelves.

They have the same loyalty to their specialty suppliers, whether it’s meat, produce, bread or dairy products. In fact, JCW’s has used the same meat supplier for 25 years. With no corporate oversight, Chris and Clay are able to adapt their business to meet the community’s needs. And they’re proud of their team of employees, some of whom have worked at JCW’s for decades. 

“The bottom line is, we want to take care of our people.”