Meet Mark Tripp of Tripp Burgers
I’ve been in LA since 1984. I spent 35 years in advertising as a photographer, producer, copywriter and director. I watched a film by George Motz’s called “Hamburger America.” about 10 years ago. His film inspired me to begin grinding my own burger meat and developing my own burger blend.
In March 2019, I was laid off from my ad agency and decided to start my burger pop-up business. I literally rolled my griddle from my house to the sidewalk at Palms & Sepulveda in West LA. From there I eventually starting doing pop-ups at local breweries and eventually adding catered events for parties and TV shows. In September 2019 I was featured on “The Burger Show” and attend the 2019 Food and Wine festival.
My burger philosophy is simple. The flavor of the meat always comes first. My burger blend is a combination of USDA Prime cuts of top sirloin, chuck and bacon. I work with award-winning butcher, Richard Schwartzberg, from Bob’s Market in Santa Monica to fresh grind each batch to my specifications. My blend is used exclusively at my pop-ups and catered events.
I’d say most of the struggles along the way are literally the physicality of setting up and taking down the pop-up each time. We’re always on the move so there’s a lot of packing up and tearing down along the way. But one defining moment last year happened when a whole gallon jar of pickles fell and exploded all over the floor. It brought me to tears and had me asking myself, “What the hell am I doing?”
Tripp Burgers is a smashburger pop-up. We specialize in making cheeseburgers. What sets us apart from others is the meat blend. It’s a blend of USDA Prime cuts of chuck, top sirloin and bacon. We give you meat, cheese and bun. We serve the burger on Martin’s Potato buns with American cheese. We don’t add sauces or seasonings to our burger.
My mantra has always been, Have fun the rest will come. I apply that same thinking to our brand, our employees and how we treat our customers. We have a great customer following and wonderful relationships with them as well.
