Burgerfest Celebrates 19 Years At Concord’s The Barley House: Watch

CONCORD, NH — Burgers have always been a thing for Brian Shea, the owner of The Barley House in Downtown Concord.

Ever since he was a child and grilled frozen patties at home and through learning to be a chef at the Culinary Institute of America in New York, and opening his own place 24 years ago, the ground round is his favorite thing to make and eat. This is one of the reasons Burgerfest is such a special event with Shea, and he admits, mostly his staff, creating all kinds of interesting offerings for the event.

Burgerfest came together, quite by accident, with Shea and his wife, Deb, trying to find a way to give back to the community. At the time, the Highland Games had left Concord. In his mind, the event was a big success and now, there was a void.

“We had a blast when it was here,” he said.

So Burgerfest was born.

The first year was a success, but then the Sheas wanted to find a charity to help. They had family experience with the Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth, now Dartmouth Health Children’s, and they also met Jay Swymer, whose son, Fred, was cared for there but passed away in 2005. Both families had such a great experience at CHaD, they decided to raise money to help others who also had children needing medical attention.

Shea was impressed with Swymer’s prowess for raising funds and getting donations, including sports stars like Bobby Orr, who would sign photos to be auctioned off. He said the Swymers were “so thankful for CHaD and the experience they had there, how they were treated, and so forth.”

That sealed the deal for the Sheas, and for many years, Fred’s Fund and Burgerfest worked together to raise a lot of money for CHaD, tens of thousands of dollars every year. The money went directly to the pediatric care unit to assist the families there.

“That’s how it really kicked things off,” he said. “It felt like this really good fit … and everything was hitting on all cylinders for us.”

Too Much Of A Good Thing?

Every year, The Barley House gets slammed during Burgerfest.

Shea said customers often call ahead to ensure they do not take vacations during the event. But, at the same time, it gets busy, which is one of the reasons why the event moved from 10 days to just a week.

“It was a tough 10 days,” he said. “We are just so busy all those days, all the way through.”

It was becoming a difficult thing to pull off each year.

And now, with hours changed after coronavirus — the restaurant is closed on Wednesdays but open on Sundays, the event runs quickly. This year, it started on Monday and will end on Saturday, a mere five days. It often builds, too, to the end of the week.

“It’s been better for the staff and all-around simplicity,” Shea said. “Even though it has gotten shorter, it has gotten better … it’s a lot of fun doing it.”

Sometimes, too, so many burgers are sold that the specialty ingredients run out.

2024’s Offerings

As with every year, there are a lot of new, tempting offerings.

The Chorizo Sizzle Smash features both beef and sausage patties, enchilada sauce, roasted corn salsa, cilantro lime sauce with lettuce, and cotija crumble — a Mexican cheese which has a consistency like a feta but with a tang like parmesan.

“It’s kind of a nice cheese to put on there,” Shea said.

Bison is also featured in 2024 with a sweet, smoky feel, including smoked Havarti, bacon, apple jam, onions, lettuce, and tomato. Shea said it was the second-most sold for the day on Monday.

The Turkey Cobb is like a turkey patty with a cobb salad — bleu cheese, lettuce, tomato, bacon, a hard-boiled egg, and avocado puree.

“Everything is just kinda piled on there and smashed down,” he said.

For vegetarians, the Quinoa Black Bean burger has pineapple ginger slaw, avocado puree, and pickled red onions.

The Double Barrel Beer has a beef patty, au jus dipped roast beef, horseradish sauce, Swiss cheese, lettuce, and tomato.

Oldie but Goodie is an onion-crusted beef patty, caramelized onion, cheddar cheese, and old-fashioned sauce.

The Seoul Satisfying K-BBQ has a beef patty with cucumber slaw, Korean BBQ, siracha mayo, and a sweet bun.

The Breakfast Burger is an extension of the traditional hangover burger, only this time with a mini pancake, maple aioli, bacon, a beef patty, and a fried egg on an English muffin.

Note: Info about the Georgia Peach Burger, Crab Rangoon Burger, and Arugula Pesto Burger can be found in the video.

All the beef from the patties comes from Robie Farm in Piermont, something Shea is proud of. He said it might cost a little more to feature New Hampshire meat with his products, but supporting a Granite State farm was a good thing.

Other Sponsors

But Burgerfest is not just about burgers — it is about community and others helping, too.

During nearly two decades, corporate sponsorship has ponied up donations per sale. Companies and firms sponsor each burger. This year, American Barber Studios, Baroff & Craven, Attorneys at Law, Cole Gardens, CoolBitts, Fraser Insurance Services, Grappone Auto Group, Mason + Rich, P.A., Merrimack County Savings Bank, Rumford Stone, S&W Sports, and Sanel NAPA are all making donations as part of the effort.

New Hampshire Distributors also donates money for every beer sold during the event.

20th Anniversary

The Barley House has plans for the 20th anniversary, but Shea is not saying what, yet, exactly. But it is sure to be as special as the burgers are every year.

“I do have a couple of ideas, but nothing is concrete yet,” he said.

So everyone will have to wait.

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