The Best Burgers in Town

Twenty-five years of hard work by Rula and John Katzourakis coupled with the best pastrami sandwich in town have made Crown Burger a thriving restaurant business. Since opening the doors of the first restaurant in 1978, the Katzourakises have added seven additional locations to satisfy the demands of their loyal customers.

The families of Rula and John originally came to the United States from Greece and settled in Utah. Eventually Rula and John decided to move to California. They worked in several fast food restaurants, then started a business with a family member as a partner. The business was too small to support both partners and, because John loved the mountains, sports and living conditions in Utah, he and Rula decided to move back to Utah.

Because John and Rula are entrepreneurial by nature, they immediately started looking for a good location to open a new business. They found a great small business property, changed the look inside and out, and opened the first Crown Burger restaurant. A few months after Crown Burger opened its doors, people were standing in line waiting to eat the now famous crown burger.

The first location had ten employees and seating for 75 customers. Today the original location employs 40 people and seats 150 customers. Crown Burger's large lunch crowd requires 25 employees behind the counter cooking and accommodating food preparation and running the registers. Various family members have opened the seven additional Crown Burger locations in Salt Lake and Davis County. Many people have asked Rula and John to franchise the restaurant, but they feel that by doing so, they would lose control of the quality and service that is so important to their family business.

John and Rula used SBA financing to help them get started with the first Crown Burger, and other family members have also used SBA financing in opening their locations.

Crown Burger is a true family-owned business. There is always at least one family member at the business at all times. In the beginning, John would be at the restaurant at 3:00 am every morning to do prep work, and he would spend 15 to 16 hours a day at the restaurant. Today at the restaurant, you will still find John cooking on the grill and Rula managing the front. They want to make sure that their customers are happy with fresh, quality food and great customer service!

(Reprinted with permission from the 2005 SBA Small Business Guide.)

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