Te Rapa, Meet Ryan

Tell us a bit about you and your story, what’s your background, where did you grow up?
‍I’m a local Hamilton Lad, born and bred, going through High School at HBHS leaving in 2016 with no real plan on where life would lead. A massive passion and involvement in all things hockey from umpiring to coaching to playing all of which have been done at representative levels.

I’ve worked in food service/Hospitality for the last 9 years, starting my BurgerFuel journey as Store Manager of Cambridge upon opening in 2022! Thrown in the deep end with only a couple weeks training in Hamilton to leading the Store to the prestigious Store of the year 2024 award!

What drew you to the brand and made you want to be a part of the BurgerFuel family?
‍I was at a point in my Job where I was constantly seeking something more, something more exciting and more long term, a lazy Sunday scroll through Seek, saw a new opportunity arise as the Store Manager of a Brand new BurgerFuel in Cambridge, I thought why not! My favourite Burger place (No biased opinion here! Haha) could be a hell of a place to work. A decision I’ve never regretted.  

It always seemed like a hectic yet fun and busy environment every time I would visit, as crazy as it sounds it kinda drew me in, and over 3 years in, I wasn’t wrong!

 What do you love about the BurgerFuel?
‍BurgerFuel to me feels like more than just a place of work, it’s a community, a Family. Where all walks of life are welcome and exist and most importantly thrive, friendly competition between stores and staff boost morale and efficiency constantly challenging everyone to better themselves daily, and it feels like working for a brand that really does give a fuck, constant support at all levels from store staff to Franchsiee, a rare thing to come by these days!

 Is there anything you can tell us about your local community and how important it is to be a part of for you as a BurgerFuel franchisee?
‍As a Hamilton local it's awesome for me to be able to get involved in my community at a business level as a BurgerFuel Franchisee. The hype for quality burgers is massive in Hamilton, and I can't wait to provide that for the community, along with supporting in the many different ways I can as a local business.

Other than your store, what’s your favourite place to go in your community?
‍Has to be the hockey turf. I've been involved in hockey in all aspects and at representative levels since I was 11 and I’m still there every weekend, I Iove the competition but mostly the community feel, and relationships built over the years (and of course the odd beverage or 3 with the lads!)
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What’s your favourite BurgerFuel burger?
‍Bacon Backfire add avo & plum sauce!

What is your best BurgerFuel hack?
‍Super speed prepping lol                              

Do you own a BurgerFuel machine? If so, what is it? 

…The mighty Ford Ranger haha!...

Random fact about yourself?
I love trains.