The Barley House's 14th Burgerfest CHaD Benefit Underway

CONCORD, NH — Burgerfest, the annual fundraiser for the Children's Hospital at Dartmouth runs through Saturday at The Barley House Restaurant on North Main Street in Concord. Brian Shea, the owner of the restaurant, said for each burger that is sold, the restaurant and a corporate sponsor donates $1 each to CHaD. New Hampshire Distributors donates $1 for each beer purchased with a burger.

The goal is to get as close to $10,000, as possible, each year.

"Basically, we raise just about $10,000, or thereabouts, every Burgerfest," he said. "If we can sell 3,000 burgers and a beer, that's $3, so, we're always around that mark."

Each year, Shea, Chef John Frobese, and others put together some recipe ideas for the event. This year, there are some repeats from previous years that were popular. But other burgers are new – like the green chili turkey burger – which has a Santa Fe feel to it, Shea said.

"We are changing it right up until the end," he said, "We're tweaking the recipes."

But the experience of cooking a specialized menu, even for a great cause, can be "kinda tough," Shea noted while adding, "We're not getting any younger."

The event has been shaved down to one weekend instead of two. Also, the North Hampton restaurant, which opened in 2016, isn't participating this year.

"It has become kind of a cult thing in Concord, which is great, but hasn't caught on during the last three years (at the North Hampton location)," Shea said.

Originally, Burgerfest wasn't a fundraiser but "something just done to have some fun." But after its first year, Shea met Jay Swymer, who had established Fred's Fund for CHaD, after his son received cancer treatment there. After sharing some of their family experiences, they began teaming up and Burgerfest became a fun way to raise money for the intensive care unit at CHaD.

Shea estimates that the event has raised just shy of $150,000 at this point.

Next year, for the 15th, Shea said he'll be cooking up something big to mark the anniversary.

View the full menu here.