EAT Goshen

At EAT, we wanted to be really laid back with what we did, and also just really weird. I think that shows up in our social media posts. That’s something we wanted to bring to the community — that weirdness and not caring about an image.

The main idea was to have fun with everything.

You can do so much with burgers. I think the most fun I have with them is coming up with the specials. Since the beginning, we’ve had weekly specials, and I have to ask myself, ‘What could I possibly do with a burger?’

We’ve had some really interesting, weird ideas that have gone out the door.

Last year, probably the weirdest one was a Thanksgiving burger. That one had stuffing, I made a cranberry sauce, and we topped it with turkey gravy. I think that one was a bit far out there for most people. We’ve done a French onion soup burger, a loaded baked potato burger — a lot of ideas that may be a little odd for a burger, but that’s what I think makes it so much fun.

But then we have more simple and classic ones like the patty melt. Those sell well.

People seem to be digging it, from the food to our online presence and interactions with staff. A lot of the same people come in. We have one guy who comes in almost every single day.

When we first opened, we were doing pop-ups a couple of times a week, trying to gauge the reception. After we got our footing, we started to do pretty limited hours. We’re still kind of running with those.

The idea is to keep expanding, to keep adding more hours, and doing more things. With COVID, it’s been different. I have a few ideas for other menu items and more hours to add. Things are starting to fall back into place, which is nice.

I think our biggest challenge is our location, actually. We’re behind Venturi and a flower shop. You kind of have to go through the alley that’s right next to Venturi to get here, so a lot of people stumble upon us. But I think that also makes it more fun — the challenge of finding us — because we’re not in everyone’s face all the time.

It’s cool seeing people find out about us, and they’re like, ‘I had no idea this was here.’

There are so many places that could have disappeared over the last year and a half, but everyone in the Goshen community has been so amazing and supportive.

I’m just super grateful for anyone who comes through that door.

— Brian Jones, general manager, EAT

Update: EAT Goshen is no longer in operation. However, the passionate and dedicated individuals involved continue to positively impact the community.