Red Bank adds another burger business to its roster of patty purveyors. (Photo by Jim Willis. Click to enlarge)

By JIM WILLIS

The former Muscle Maker Grill in Red Bank is now 30 Burgers.

The West Front Street burger restaurant is an extension of the 25 Burgers chain, which has seven other locations around New Jersey. Most of its stores have 25 varieties, but like a Spinal Tap amp that goes one higher, the Red Bank store boasts five additional varieties.

It joins a suddenly burgeoning burger market downtown including JR’s across the street and Broadway Fresh Burgers and Fries on Broad Street. 

30 Burgers customers Will Reidemeister, left and Chris Smith say bringing some competition to Red Bank’s burger scene is a good thing. (Photo by Jim Willis. Click to enlarge)

Rob Aiello, front of house supervisor for 30 Burgers, tells PieHole that owners Rajesh Kumar and Jay Patel bought the building and the Muscle Maker Grill business two years ago. The pair own several other 25 Burgers locations, and Aiello says they opened the 30 Burgers in the space to take advantage of the late-night crowd.

“Red Bank is a great location. Great nightlife, ” says Aiello.  “Muscle Maker Grill wasn’t meeting that audience. When you’re out at a bar at 1 a.m., you’re not looking for healthy food, you’re looking for burgers and fries.”

As for whether or not Red Bank needs another burger joint, PieHole caught up with a few guys who were trying 30 Burgers at lunch for the first time to get their thoughts.

Will Reidemeister of Rumson says that there are a lot of people in the area who are loyal to Cluck-U or JR’s.

“These places needs some competition,” says Reidmeister.

His lunch partner, Chris Smith of Fair Haven, agrees. “Jr.’s service definitely needs competition,” he says.

The 30 Burgers website indicates that the restaurant is opened until 11pm on the weekends, though a recent Facebook post puts them slinging burgers til 2 a.m. 

Aeillo tells PieHole that the resturant is still experimenting with hours but for now, they’re open until 9 p.m. during the week, 11 p.m. on Thursday nights and 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.