Boardwalk Burgers Holds its Grand Opening

Boardwalk Fresh Burgers and Fries opened this morning in Springfield to the cheers of the folks who'd camped outside the store all night to win a coupon book for a free burger a week for a year.

A ribbon cutting ceremony held shortly after 10 a.m. featured Springfield Supervisor Pat Herrity, who reminisced about his own past vacations to Ocean City, Md. growing up. Boardwalk bills its burgers and fries as traditional Ocean City fare, with the name of the city emblazoned on the walls of the store several times.

"Now we don't have to leave Springfield to get Ocean City burgers and fries anymore," Herrity said, quipping that he was surprised that his staff were even in the office the morning rather than at the store (his office is a block or two down the road in the West Springfield Government Center).

Several members of the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce were present. Board President Anna Kaviani made a few remarks to open up the brief ceremony.

"Thank you for making this selection in Springfield," Kaviani said. "Thank you for being here."

Store owner Koti Aluri emphasized the community aspect of his business.

"We are a company that wants to be community oriented, so we're going to have a lot of events," Aluri said.

"The last four months I've spent here in Springfield - the community response is phenomenal," Aluri said later to Burke Patch. "I want to grow this business to where it's not just a place to get food, but a place for a community, where you come after Little League games."

After the ceremony, the door was opened up to the campers outside. Each of the 50 winners of the free burger a week for a year coupon book were announced into the store with a loudspeaker and cheers, where they posed with Aluri for a picture.

Marcy Laub, 17, who said she'd planned for the camp out for two weeks prior, said the experience had been worth it, despite some drama over a non-official list of names one person in line had put together.

WMZQ 98.7, a country radio station in the area, will be at the store much of the day, giving out King's Dominion tickets rather than what the store previously advertised as Rascal Flatts tickets.

Boardwalk Fresh Burgers & Fries
6230T Rolling Road Springfield, VA, 22152
703-866-5901