Brothers Burger: A family affair
Martin Jose owns a burger empire in Manila with his two brothers and chose the food court in Hamilton’s Jackson Square for the first Canadian location.
At Jackson Square the halls are decked, buzzing with holiday shoppers. When hunger hits, many head to the food court where they find a new option has arrived. Brothers Burger is a bright, inviting spot, drawing diners to its menu of flame-grilled gourmet burgers.
I met with the owners of Brothers Burger one busy Saturday to find out the story behind the burger shop. Martin Jose is one of three brothers who own the empire of designer burgers that originated in the Philippines in 1999. There are now 15 stores across the Metro Manila area.
Jose and his wife Marilyn moved to the GTA in July 2023 to find a location for Canada’s store No. 1, searching for six months throughout the Toronto area. It wasn’t until they came upon a vacancy at Jackson Square that they realized Hamilton was the perfect place to open their restaurant.
“Everything was there, it was quick to set up. And they’re the only ones that took the risk with us,” Jose says, “because we’re a new brand in Canada, there’s no track record. And we were surprised that they had a program to help new businesses.”
Brothers Burger opened at the end of the summer and Jose says they have felt the brand has been accepted in Hamilton, from people working in the surrounding office towers to McMaster students living in the core. While we were chatting, a family arrived from two hours away, north of Toronto, to try the burgers they’d heard about on social media and through friends. They snapped a selfie with the Joses after their meal. You’ll see the couple working behind the counter, chatting up customers – even their two daughters are involved with helping the business. This is truly a family-run operation, with a goal of expanding into more locations in the GTA.
“We realized that people in Hamilton really enjoy their food. People are buying more of the designer burgers on our menu rather than the standard classic cheeseburger. They’re ordering the extreme bacon burger, the Blues Brothers burger, the lamb burger … specialty burgers are what people are craving in Hamilton.”
