AUSTIN, Texas — Deep in the middle of the pandemic, an Austin-area pop-up burger stand grew so popular that obtaining one of its burgers became a badge of honor.
This was made all the more impressive because the lucky few who experienced The Bad Larry Burger Club could only purchase its famous “burgs” by following and interacting with its Instagram account.
In late 2019, Matthew Bolick started The Bad Larry Burger Club by selling cheeseburgers on his front porch. With the pandemic in full swing last spring and folks eager to get their hands on something familiar, his burgers, which are modeled after a fast-food favorite, rose in notoriety around Austin’s foodie scene.
The process of getting a “Bad Larry,” as Bolick has come to call them, is not for the faint of heart. In the early days, customers had to message him on Instagram, pay via Venmo, and then show up at a set time to claim their prize.
To make the experience even more unique and maintain social distancing, Bolick took to delivering his product by a remote control dump truck. Finding the toy a little less than efficient, he eventually upgraded to a six-foot-long “Burger Chute,” replete with "BAD LARRY BURGER CLUB" on one side and "WE GIVE A CHUTE" on the other.
Bolick said the clever delivery device was donated to The Bad Larry Burger Club by the kind folks at Wright Bros. Brew & Brew when he held a pop-up at its coffee shop on the east side.
Being able to get one of his double cheeseburgers is still difficult these days, though he has refined the process and has a website to track burger sales and schedule pickups.
You still have to be fast, though.
Typically, on a Sunday, the Bad Larry Instagram account will post a link to its bio, announced via Instagram Stories, and you have only minutes to choose a pickup window and buy your burger. Remarking on this latest pop-up, Bolick claims, “We sold… 245 burgers in just under 2 minutes.”
In his own self-deprecating style of not understanding the popularity of his own product, he added, “...for some odd reason.”
Tasting the burger, though, the reason becomes readily apparent and it might have to do with its simple recipe.
“Double-meat, double-cheese, mustard, ketchup, onion, and two pickle — just like Mack D’s, man,” he tells a patron salivating at the end of the Burger Chute.
In the 30 or so minutes we were onsite at its most recent pop-up (in front of Bummer Burrito on Rainey St.), we witnessed a steady stream of customers and the machine that has become The Bad Larry Burger Club. Two cooks manned the grill, constantly building cheeseburgers with no rest, while Bolick handled the customers and the final boxing and delivery of the burgers.
Beyond just grabbing a tasty burger, being there feels like a party. The bar at Bummer Burrito was running happy hour specials and heavy metal was blaring over the speakers for anyone on the block to enjoy.
Bolick concluded, “For me it’s a great time, I get an excuse to hang out with my friends, and get drunk, and make burgers."