Burgery Will Open Second Shop in Center Valley

Carl Billera of Lower Macungie is pretty happy being the man behind the woman.

He’s also pretty happy being the man behind the expansion of , the 2-½-year-old Emmaus-based restaurant he owns with his wife, Buffy, to a second location in Center Valley.

Buffy, Billera says, is “the boss,” handling all of the daily business operations, while he focuses on areas like marketing and getting things off the ground in Center Valley.

Billera says he hopes to have the Center Valley location, which customers may recognize as the old Windsor Hotel, open by June 1. “The wheels turn slowly with townships,” he said, adding that there are still some issues to resolve related to grease disposal and a township requirement that restaurants have a buried grease tank, rather than dispose of the grease under the sink.

Other than the grease tank, Billera says, he won’t be making many changes to the building. “We’ll be redoing the bar area, and make it fit more with ‘our look.’ This particular location is basically 80 percent equipped already and it has a very reasonable rent.”

For those familiar with the building, Billera says he will be removing the bar entirely. He does not have a liquor license. Basically, hours, ambiance and menu will all mirror the Emmaus location.

Billera says that he will be bringing two or three cooks from the Emmaus location to the new Burgery Company. “We need to keep some of the key people, the ones who make the burgers.” Beyond that, he adds, he expects to hire about a dozen new employees for the Center Valley shop.

Billera says he began looking in the direction of Center Valley for a second location because the Emmaus Burgery Company is drawing customers from Quakertown and places farther down Route 309.

“This is close but still far enough away,” Billera says. “We are excited because we think there is lots of potential with companies like Lutron, and Olympus [in that area.] There is so much more of a business draw.

“There isn’t a heck of a lot down there in the way of burgers,” he says. “Hopefully we’ll continue to be successful and we can begin thinking about a third location.”