Campus Burgers in San Jose maintains commitment to affordable meals
At a time when prices are going up everywhere, a popular South Bay spot near San Jose State is doing what it can to keep the price of a student staple low.
Campus Burgers founder Jim Angelopolous, says simplicity is key.
"Go back to some simplicity. Burgers are the most popular item, and I thought, why not just give it a try?" Angelopoulos told CBS News Bay Area. "It's just the simplicity of just serving one item and serving it well."
It's not often you can get a non-fast food burger for less than $5. And at Campus Burgers, a hamburger will cost you $1.99.
"We serve people within two minutes. And that's our goal," he said.
Campus Burgers opened in San Jose about seven months ago. Angelopoulos said business has been booming.
"Over a thousand tickets a day, probably. 1,600 cheeseburgers and double cheeseburgers a day," Angelopolous said proudly.
He said he serves 350 pounds of meat every day, along with 600 pounds of potatoes daily for French fries. In a time of increasing living costs, he said his eyes have been on one goal: to serve fresh burgers the affordable way.
He noted that he spends about $30,000 on meat patties monthly, and is concerned that inflation will impact his future costs.
"The meat has gone up a little bit. That's my biggest concern. In order to keep that $1.99 price," he said.
While his potatoes and onions are sourced locally, the owner said packaging products, including wrappers and to-go bags sourced from China, could go up.
But despite this all, he said his mission will not change.
"No, I will not raise prices. As you can see on my menu board, the top highest prices are $4.99 in anything we serve," he said.
William Thompson, a student at San Jose State University, is now a regular at Campus Burgers.
"I like cooking a lot at home, but because this place is so convenient, and cheap, it makes it a lot easier to come and check it out. Overall, everyone's dealing with the same thing inflation-wise, from groceries to gas prices. And it's just something we got to deal with," he said.
"My goal is to always keep that burger as long as I can for a $1.99," Angelopoulos said.