“I always cooked as a hobby. I never thought about it being a career path,” Dave Culwell, owner of Burger Schmurger says.
The musician-turned-cook grew up in Southern California, experiencing a vast food scene and cooking on the side as much as he could before moving to Dallas in 2016.
“When COVID hit, I started doing backyard cookouts with the attempt of keeping the village together,” he says. “It was that time that my then 13-year-old daughter suggested we take food on the road.”
Culwell called a contact at Oak Highlands Brewery (OHB), a neighborhood staple north of Interstate 635, and took his daughter along to run a monthly pop-up outside the brewery. Today, you can still find Burger Schmurger at OHB, slinging two of its award-winning signature burgers every Wednesday night.
Those delicious burgers aren’t the only things that set Culwell’s crew apart.
“We at Burger Schmurger are unique in that for the most part, we show up and cook for you on your turf,” he says. “We become part of the party and we have a really good time. We love every aspect of it and I believe that it shows.”
That fun-loving spirit has made the brand known throughout Dallas, but Culwell isn’t satisfied with being a culinary nomad.
“I am interested in a permanent location, maybe a few,” he says. “I’m sure the right opportunity will come up, and we’ll jump on it. We will always have a pop-up state of mind regardless of where it takes us.”
Burger Schmurger can be found at Oak Highlands Brewery, Wednesday nights 5 to 8 p.m. or at High Fives, located at 1804 McMillan Ave. Wednesday-Friday from 4 p.m. to “late” and Saturday and Sunday 11 a.m. to “late.”
