EDITOR'S NOTE: Since this story ran in July in the Times West Virginian, the JAG Beer Burger Bowery is now open. Photo below is from their Facebook page.

 

A new local restaurant will open in the coming days, bringing a new meaning to craft beer and burgers.

 

Jimmy Sears and Pat Mascaro have been close friends since they attended college at Fairmont State University. Having a combined 50 years of experience working in the restaurant business, they decided to dive in and open a restaurant that is unique in both its menu and location.

 

“A couple years ago, Pat and I were out in South Dakota and we spent some time at this simple craft beer and craft burger joint,” Sears said. “We were out there for a Fairmont State University basketball tournament, and we just liked the concept of it.”

 

The guys realized Mascaro had the perfect location for something small and quaint. Mascaro owns Jag Laundry on Fairmont Avenue, and they decided to take advantage of the empty lower half of the building. Although the date hasn’t been made official, Sears said Beer Burger Bowery will have its soft opening in 7-10 days.

 

“We are just a 32-seat establishment, but that’s exactly what we wanted,” Sears said. “We didn’t want a really large establishment. We are going to focus on craft burgers and craft beer.”

 

With his eyes on the beef, Sears said that the burgers will be made fresh every day and “hand-pattied” by cooks. Buns will be locally sourced every day and onion rings and french fries will be made by hand, fresh and never frozen.

 

“So what makes us different than a lot of burger joints is that they use a lot of frozen products,” Sears said. “We will not. We are really focusing on the quality of the food. Along with that, we are going to have about 11 local craft beers on tap as well as 20 other beer offerings.”

 

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