Sunday, May 28, is National Hamburger Day. The Buckley School is jumping on that burger bandwagon with our picks for some of the best places to get a burger in Camden:
Broad Street Lunch, home of the famous hamburger on bread
Broad Street Lunch
1110 Little Street
Opened in 1931, the BSL (as locals call it) lays claim to being the oldest restaurant in Camden. Their twist on the burger speaks to our hearts: it’s served on toasted bread, not a bun, with homemade chili. This text from our business manager Camilla Olano: "Who knew a hamburger between two pieces of white bread could be so good. Yum BSL!!!"
Our Karen Kalutz and husband Ted heading into Haile Street (left) and burgers up at the communal table (right).
Haile Street Grill
1350 Haile Street
"One of my few memories of kindergarten is when my dad would pick me up and take me to Haile Street and get me the biggest hamburger I had ever seen," says Camilla.
Haile Street Grill opened back in 1928, closed briefly then re-opened last summer with new owners, dinner service and a broader menu. Burgers are still a favorite pick. To find it, you can follow the signs to the hospital, because the grill is located conveniently next door. You’ll be across from pretty Kendall Park, where you can walk off some of those fries with a few laps of the half-mile walking trail.
Drive thru or dine in for burgers at the Little Midget
Little Midget
1012 Market Street
“We are a family drive-in, not a fast food joint” the owners say with pride on their Facebook page. Little Midget has been serving burgers, pimento cheese, hot dogs and fries from this same location for 54 years—and say they are Camden’s oldest family-owned drive-in.
Lunchtime crowd at Highway 55 in Lugoff
Highway 55
828 Highway 1 South, Lugoff
This is the newest burger joint in the community—a right turn and a few miles west of The Buckley School. Highway 55 opened September 2016 with a line out the door. (We know, because some of us were in that line.) Though this fast-growing chain is new to Camden, it’s not entirely new to all of us. Highway 55’s founder lives in Mt. Olive, N.C. and his restaurant was inspired in part by the Tastee Freeze there, where our faculty member Jenny Maxwell used to hang out when she was a high school cheerleader. Today there are Highway 55 franchises in more than 120 places, including Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. They also happen to be offering a 55-cent “lil’ hamburger” on National Hamburger Day.
Sam Kendall's on Broad Street (right) and one of their classic burgers (left)
Sam Kendall’s
1043 Broad Street
This is our pick when we want our burger served with a nice glass of wine, craft beer, or fancy cocktail—or when we’re just in the mood for a pretty place to have lunch. Sam Kendall’s occupies a historic building in the center of Camden with a tin ceiling and heart pine floors. They have a super standard cheeseburger, but you might want to go for the SK with Sam’s special sauce or the Hickory with bacon. (And though this is a burger round up, we’d be failing you if we didn’t put in a plug for the Crazy “K” fried chicken sandwich.)
Best spot for burgers+sports
Gadgets
110 East Dekalb Street
Our Pam Schreiner says this is the place for a burger with a side of sports. “The burgers are delicious and there’s always a lively crowd cheering their favorite team,” says Pam. And as you might've heard, we're some pretty serious college sports fans in these parts.
