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NEDERLAND — After beginning in Jasper in 2006, Hamburger Depot has been a hit all across Southeast Texas. The burger joint moved to Nederland in May 2011 and has been serving up some of the area’s best burgers ever since.

Tressy Morgan, Nathan Teague and Sherri Elmer are the co-owners.

“Nathan and I met in the restaurant industry in Jasper,” Morgan said. “Sherri and her family moved (to Jasper) about 20 years ago. I think her kids ended up working for one of the restaurants we were in at the time and it went from there.”

The trio owns a coffee shop called Jasper Java as well as the Hamburger Depot locations.

“We just knew we wanted to own something but just weren’t sure what it would be,” Morgan said. “We had a history in the restaurant business. We found out that Hamburger Depot was for sale in Jasper. If you look online, the original one is three portable buildings put together. The opportunity came and we took a shot. We had a lot of fear and trepidation and a lot of hope and here we are today.”

The gamble paid off as the group now has eight locations, with three in Beaumont and one on Nederland Avenue.

“We went from Jasper to Beaumont to Nederland and just kept growing,” Morgan said.

While the restaurant offers a plethora of tasty burger combos, Morgan said the classics still reign supreme in sales.

“Everyone goes to the cheeseburger, believe it or not,” she said. “It is followed by the hamburger and the bacon cheeseburger. Those are our three best sellers. From there it goes to a variety of items.”

While many go with what they know, Morgan has switched her favorite burger a few times.

“My favorite burger is the White Hot,” she said. “It has cream cheese. You can put cream cheese on dirt and it is good. It is even better on a burger. It also has grilled jalapenos. It is really good. My favorite before that was the Mushroom Swiss, and then we introduced the White Hot and that became my favorite burger.”

Those not quite looking for a burger can also get their fix. Hamburger Depot offers chili cheese fries, chicken and steak fingers, a variety of sandwiches, salads, wraps and melts, just to name a few.

Morgan said she has been pleasantly surprised by the eatery’s success.

“We bought the location in Jasper thinking we would build here,” she said. “The opportunity came to open one in Beaumont so we did. Here we are, still in the hole in the wall in Jasper and eight locations later.”

The burger spot has done relatively well despite the strain the coronavirus pandemic put on the restaurant industry, Morgan said.

“All but two of our locations have drive-thru windows,” she said. “We’ve made preparations to overcome some of the price spikes. You just have to be smart. Sometimes it doesn’t work out that way, but you just have to do the best you can.”

Morgan said the Nederland location is the most successful.

“It’s the top store out of all of them,” she said. “It is the busiest. We are very pleased with how that location is doing. We are doing some remodeling in the middle of COVID. We are just doing a little bit at a time. We are very grateful for Nederland. They have been very good to us.”