AmericanFast Food

HiWay Burger (Delray Beach)

Posted on May 29th, 2012 · American Delray Beach Fast Food

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***** HiWay Burgers, 12 Southeast 5th Avenue, Delray Beach, Florida 33483, (561) 243-6460.

Back on May 7, 2012 Jeff Eats did a writeup on HiWay Burger (it’s down below). At the end of the “story” I told you guys that I would make it my business to get to HiWay and report back on how the joint was. So, here goes–

Last Saturday night I and Mrs. Jeff Eats ate at HiWay Burger in Delray Beach. First of all, I absolutely loved the look of this red/white 1950ish looking “hole in the wall” joint. When you check HiWay’s website for menu/prices at www.hiwayburger.com there is also a photo of what HiWay looks like, so you’ll know exactly what the deal is here.

Just so you know, HiWay has a real small menu… flat-top grilled burgers, french fries, shakes, sodas, ice tea. So if you are into a vegetarian game-I don’t think so!

Now for the taste-test. I did a double cheeseburger with french fries and a Coke—both the burger and fries were right up there with the best of breed.

I really enjoyed the food.

HiWay Burger is open Sunday-Thursday 11am-10pm, Friday-Saturday 11am11pm.

***** HiWay Burger *****

Got something that you “burger” folks might like to checkout…HiWay Burgers, 12 Southeast 5th Avenue, Delray Beach, Florida 33483, (561) 243-6460.

Two weeks ago, I and Mrs. Jeff Eats were “strolling” Atlantic Avenue…and low and behold- we spotted HiWay Burger, a brand new “hole in the wall” fast food burger joint with a “Coming Soon” sign in its window. Looking in, there were a handful of 50′s style booths and a small counter to order at. Just so you know, this thing really is a “hole in the wall”—the menu board listed— BURGERS, FRIES, SODAS, SHAKES period. Now nothing for nothing, but based on color scheme/decor and menu– my money says that, Hiway’s owner is trying to “emulate” the hugely successful and cult favorite In-N-Out Burger chain. Now for our purposes that’s a good thing, because if my assumption is correct, then it’s a safe bet that the owner “knows” what a top-notch fast food burger joint-should be. Of course, knowing and executing are two whole different things…so, we’ll just have to see how this all plays out. I will tell you, that from my brief “peek” the joint looks really cool.

To rap this up, yesterday- I bumped into my old friend Glenn who owns several Atlantic Avenue buildings…and- he mentioned to me that HiWay Burgers had opened and that the cheeseburger, french fries and chocolate shake that he ordered were terrific. For the record, I think that Glenn knows his fast food burger “stuff” because he’s also a huge fan of Five Guys, BurgerFi and Shake Shack–but then again, he’s a Red Sox fan, so I can’t really swear for this guy!

Anyway…I’m gonna get up to HiWay Burger in a few weeks and “taste” for myself. If you get there before I do, let me know what you think. By the way, the joint is so new that its website www.hiwayburger.com has yet to be fleshed out

68 Comments to “HiWay Burger (Delray Beach)”

  1. Sean H. says...

    Jeff:
    Loved the simplcity of this joint.
    I had a double cheeseburger and French fries and really enjoyed them.
    Ive eaten in BurgerFi, Five Guys, CG Burgers and a load of other fast food burger joints and I thought that HiWay was as good if not better than the others.
    I saw a quick mention of In N Out. Ive been to a couple in La and I dont get the cult following of mediocre burgers and ff at best.
    HiWay is a really good burger joint.

  2. Tom Snyder says...

    Enjoyed the burger and fries.
    As good as 5 Guys and others in the area.
    Cute little place.

  3. Scott Mcclure says...

    From: Scott Mcclure
    Subject: thankyou

    Message Body:
    Jeff, Thank you for your great site! And thank you for coming to HIWay BURGER! We all enjoy reading your write ups and all the great comments from everyone. Thanks again from everyone at HiWay BURGER

  4. 2309RED says...

    Jeff,
    Ate at HiWay.
    Nice simple concept.
    See the In N Out decor/menu influence.
    Have been to a number of In N Outs and HiWay’s food is better.
    Most easterners have never been to an In N Out. It has a huge following with lines all the time. Very run business with first class well paid employees. Never figured out why it has such a huge following as the food is strictly Burger King/Wendy’s/McDonald’s quality.

  5. FAR says...

    Just had lunch there with my son.
    There are 4 booths and a handful of counter stools. One girl at register and 2 other employees making the food.
    Limited menu to burgers, ff, drinks and shakes.
    We had a single cheeseburger and a double cheeseburger and one ff and one large soda. The bill was just under 14 bucks. The burgers were delicious same for the fries.
    HiWay is better than five guys, CG, Burgerfi. Definitely will be back.

  6. VWD says...

    Jeff, you say that HiWay’s burger is up there with best of breed> What does this mean?

  7. JeffEats says...

    VWD:

    Just had a chance to read your comments.

    To be perfectly honest with you, like many of you guys…I’ve eaten in so many burger joints that the “burgers” themselves actually become a huge blur. Kinda hard remembering this burger and that burger.

    When I say something is is right up there with the best of breed, I’m telling you, that whatever that particular food item was, it was one of the “better” ones that I’ve had.

    On HiWay—the double cheeseburger and french fries that I had were absolutely delicious. Now was it the best fast food burger I’ve had in South Florida…it’s a close call. To be honest with you, the “closeness” between various burgers is really a coin toss.

    Suffice it to say, I’ve eaten a ton of burgers and HiWay’s was as good as any I’ve eaten.

    Thanks for reading…

  8. Jeff,
    Have eaten 2x at HiWay.
    Definitely a delicious fast food burger.
    Some of its competitors are much more expensive.
    For the 3 price range HiWay gives a great value.

  9. WYNN says...

    Thought the burger and ff were great.

  10. ASKER says...

    Jeff, if i listed all of the burger places my wife and i have tried it would be a huge list. so i wont.
    hiway is as good as any of them.
    its menu is simple.
    its a cute looking place.
    its prices fair.
    of all of the burger places my wife and i like it the best.

  11. Flyer says...

    Took a look at this place last night. Good burger and fries. Fair prices. The owner definitely put some cash into the build out. I think the store is too small to generate any real money.

    • SED1954 says...

      had a cheeseburger and ff on sat. night. definitely enjoyed it and thought the price was right. nice counter help. nice looking place. have to agree with you that the owner put some heavy duty money into the build out. unless he’s the landlord i think Hiway is going to run red because of its size and the location isnt all that strong.

  12. Ronny says...

    Regular burger. Nothing special. Better than Gimme a burger and not as good a 5 guys.

  13. burgerman1212 says...

    Really enjoyed the burger. Fries were ok but not great and a skimpy portion. i liked the decor.
    Unless I’m missing something here. the location is so weak that there is no way the owner is going to be able to turn a profit.

  14. ARNIE B. says...

    One of the best fast food burgers going. The fries were good but not great.
    Enjoyed the layout.
    HiWay needs enormous foot traffic to make it. i seriously doubt that Delray is the right spot for this.
    Near Macy’s in Herald Square would be perfect.
    In an airport would be perfect.
    In a regional mall would be great.
    Delray I dont think so.

  15. EDDIE TOMPKIN says...

    Burger was awesome.
    Jef, for discussion only.
    unless the owners are also the landlord, i dont see this joint lasting too long.
    hopefully they got a ton of free rent and buildout money.
    the store has to be bigger and in a drop better location.
    in a regional mall would be great, same for airport like ARNIE B mentioned would also be good.

  16. Mr.Builder says...

    I tried HiWay and I loved it.
    Of all the burger concepts around this one is my favorite.
    Simple menu. Reasonable prices. Clean/sharp looking store. No wasted space.
    I have a GC license. I have built my fair share of restaurants.
    In just looking around HiWay, the owner put some cash into this project. Every thing is first class. The owner made sure not to over theme it. It has a 1960s retro feel but the signage isn’t too over the top period.
    As others have mentioned this concept would work well in big traffic areas like malls, airports, major city streets.
    I’m not exactly sure why the owner picked the current location. Unless the owner is also the landlord or there was a tremendous rent deal or tenant improv. money then the location is kind of questionable.
    I know malls etc get top dollar, but you do get the foot traffic. Imagine HiWay in Sawgrass, Town Center in Boca.
    5 Guys is now in Aventura Mall and is killing it.
    If I was the owner and looking for a second spot I’d be thinking S. Beach in the Lincoln Road area.
    Played right, Hiway could easily have 100s of stores all over the country.
    One final observation, my eye tells me that the owner spend some nice money getting this thing right. Not sure of the exact dollars, but with a really good GC he probably could have saved 50% putting this thing together.

  17. Leon Kurt says...

    Jeff, you got me to make a trip from pompano to try this one. good suggestion. the burger and ff were delicious. definitely up there with the best fast food burgers in the area.

  18. xds says...

    love this place. simple and cheap. delicious burger.

    • Duke of Earl says...

      HiWay has the right formula.
      Limited menu, good food, good prices.
      Delray location could catch on.

  19. grillman says...

    Hey jeff i got some news for you…..i worked at low way burger and because of how slow business was and the inexperience of the gm overordering thousands of dollars of meat i was forced to cook burgers that were expired turning grey and smelling bad. The employees just looked at each other and couldnt believe we were serving this product………in all my years i have never seen this happen.

    We will see just how honest a critic you are and if you have integrity…..you see i was told that you wanted to invest in low way burger you gotta be crazy as they don’t have a clue about food service i’m doing you a favor…i have already contacted the state in regards to serving the bad meat…..to be continued.

    The average daily sales are 350 a day will never make it owner is flush with cash though but has no common sense when it comes to food servive gm is aflake and nott very smart

    • I don’t know about what you are saying, but I was there Friday night and my double cheeseburger and fries were delicious. Sounds to me like you are a disgruntled employee. Whatever!

      • grillman says...

        I have heard from many people that you are a gentleman and i have to say you live up to the reputation thank you for responding

    • JeffEats says...

      grillman:

      Just had a chance to read your comments.

      Sounds to me like your employment at HiWay didn’t workout too well.

      I note with interest your comment that Jeff Eats wanted to invest in HiWay Burger, sorry but you heard wrong.

      Thanks for reading…

    • Sharon J. says...

      Ive been there 3 times. Great burgers and fries. Clean restaurant with terrific help.
      We sure are seeing a different restaurant.

    • Mark Cohen says...

      Can’t comment on your claims.
      What I do know is that HiWay makes one of the best fast food burgers that I’ve had in a very long time.
      I’ve eaten there twice and both times the burger and for that matter the fries were excellent.

  20. exssive says...

    You sound like a moron. I have been there and it is one of the cleanest, friendless places I have ever been. The staff is wonderful and the food is great. I think you have deeper issues…..

    • manny says...

      just would like you to know that the good reviews are all friends and employees of hiway burger. exssive is adam knoblock the gm this is bogus

      • JeffEats says...

        manny:

        Just had a chance to read your comments.

        Jeff Eats receives loads of emails/comments. No question, on any given review some of the comments maybe from owners/friends. Based on the this particular record, I am almost positive that “the good reviews” aren’t all from owners/friends.

        Thanks for reading…

    • jamie says...

      of course you have eaten their exssive, you are adam knoblauch the gm of hiway burger and gm of off the av, the sole reason for the failure of both establishments so stop being disingenuous by masquerading as a customer who is giving a positive review of the restaurant it is pathetic. Jeff this is bogus brother

  21. Ed K. says...

    Jeff,
    I was at the Boca Burger Battle this past Saturday night.
    I thought that HiWay had the best burger.
    I also thought that Rebel had a very good burger.

    • ALF says...

      Like you i was at bb the other night.
      I enjoyed the hiway burger but it wasnt as good as the one they serve in their store. the store one is flat top griddle and this one was made differently. try the store and if you liked the one you had on saturday you will love the regular one they normally make.

  22. max says...

    good morning i work at boutique on atlantic ave and have been walking by hiway burger for months and finally decided to give it a try. i have never seen any customers in the store and that gave me a bit of apprehension. i ordered a double hiway burger and fries. i am not the complaining type but my experience wasnt pleasent. the burger was raw in the middle severely undercooked and the french fries were old soggy and too salty. i can see why they dont have many customers. i wont be going back

  23. LOP says...

    I and my teenage son have eaten at HiWay twice. Both times our cheeseburgers and French fries were delicious. The restaurant although very small, looks great and the help is as pleasant as can be. Don’t recall the exact numbers but both times we were in HiWay there were other customers eating and ordering. To max above, I guess as far as customer counts go, it really depends when you are there. By the way we were there once on a Sunday around 3:30pm and once on a Saturday night around 6:30pm.
    Finally, Hiway is very reasonably priced. We find the food better than BurgerFi which is in the same area.

  24. HGM says...

    Here’s my 2 cents on all the fast food burger places that have recently opened.
    I’ve been to HiWay, BurgerFi, CG, Shake Shack, Elevation, Between The Bun, Jake’s Wayback, Gimme A Burger, Relish, Five Guys.
    I think that HiWay has the best burger.
    I think that Between The Bun has the best fries.
    Don’t know anything about HiWay’s business but know a good fairly priced cheeseburger when I eat one.

  25. william says...

    there seems to be some wild disagreements about hiway burger.this is how i see it. i have been eating here for three months now. some nights the burgers are great and an equal amount of times they are either terribly overcooked or undercooked. same goes for the fries. i have been there 2 dozen times and have never once seen more than 6 people there. i am giving it a chance because i am in business myself and understand growing pains, but i am about to give up on it. docs on swinton is much better and burger fi though double the price i know what to expect. my suggestion to hiway you need to hire more experienced mature employees to become more consistent. time is running out on your infancy

    • Karson says...

      Ive eaten there 3x. Each time the cheeseburger & ff were just right. All 3x the place had other customers but wasn’t packed. I’ve walked by a handful of times and have seen it empty. I dont know if the owner has a restaurant background or not. What I do know is that the location is very weak and from the looks of HiWay the owner spent some cash building it out. I also know that at tops 3 maybe or 4 employees are needed to run the store.

      I enjoyed my food. The place looks great. The employees as pleasant as can be.

      Based on my 3x times I’ll be back.

      I see that sometimes you find the food cooked right and sometimes it misses. MAYBE HiWay needs a bit more seasoning in the consistency department, although my burgers etc were always just fine.

      Finally, if you think that Doc’s burgers and ff are better, you better see a real doctor. The food is absolute garbage there.

    • GH says...

      unless my math isnt too good youve eaten there 24 times in something like 90 days.

      • kilty says...

        you must be a mathematician

  26. i’m going to let all of you folks in on a little secret, HiWay’s burgers and fries are better than the cult favorite In N Out’s burgers and fries. In N Out’s food is absolute garbage. It has a cult like following which I can’t explain.

  27. Sherlock Scones says...

    I have at last figured out why after many weeks of high praise there have been several negative reports on HiWay.They all started with the disgruntled employee grillman . Then max appears after several positive reports. Then this william shows up on the scene after several more positive reports.My deduction is that these three people are all the same person. My guess is that the unemployed grillman is sitting at home in his boxers watching day time soaps.I can prove my theory by the fact that the perpetrator has a typing flaw, he always uses a lower case i to refer to himself (don’t know what my friend Dr. Freud would say about this),all seems strange to me.Oh,one more thing,”william” unless you were sucking on a soldering iron as a kid how could it take you 24 times to figure out you didn’t like the food!

  28. FAJ says...

    Jeff,
    I got to really compliment you, you did it again. You’ve made a food blog into a must read soap opera. Episode #2 “The Grillman v. The Owner : Only The Walls Know.”

    For the record, I live and play in the Atlantic Ave. area. Since it first opened, I must have walked or driven by HiWay 50 times. Most of the time, it hasn’t been all that busy.

    Also for the record, I’ve eaten once at Hiway. When I was there, 5 others were eating in. I had a single cheeseburger and fries. The bun was soft as could be, the burger was delicious, the fries were good but the portion was on the skimpy side.

    Would I go back? Absolutely. The food was good and the prices very reasonable.

    As I mentioned, I live and play in the area. I’ve been to Five Guys, BurgerFi, Doc’s, The Office, Johnny Brown’s, Bru’s, Boston’s, Deck 84, just to name but a few. Personally, I would match HiWay’s Burger up against any of them.

    I’ll leave it to your readers to keep the soap opera going, but as far I’m concerned HiWay’s food is just right.

  29. Max Cohen says...

    I love a good burger and fries.
    Doc’s——-poor
    BurgerFi—-fair
    Five Guys–good
    Smashburger—very good
    Shake Shack—-good
    CG Burger—good
    Relish—good
    Jack’s—fair
    HiWay–very good
    Don’t know what all the noise is about. My burger and ff were very good. The bun was fresh. The help was nice. The place was clean The price was fair.

  30. BBBA says...

    Ate there only one time. Thought the burger and ff were very good. Don’t kow what all the bs going on around here I ll about. I Definitly will et there again th net time i ‘m in the area. By the way for thos of you who think that Doc’s has a better burger and ff, think again, not even close.

  31. johnnyD says...

    Don’t know what all the fuss is about.
    Walk by Hiway Burger everyday and there are NO customers.NONE, ZERO, ZIP ,ZILCH.
    Regardless of how good or bad the food is , it wont be there very long if no one spends money there. So grillman’s comments mean diddly squat.
    Also if there arent any customers where are the positive comments coming from.? I suspect the owner and his friends.

    • Youarethere says...

      Here’s my take on HiWay.
      First I’ve eaten there twice and the food is very good.
      I think that the location stinks. Maybe right on Atlantic works but the spot it’s in sucks.
      I think that the store looks great.
      I think that a. Small store works in a S Beach or on 34th street in manhattan where there tons of people. I seriously doubt that Delray on aatlantic has enough people passing by.
      I think that the owner really picked a bad spot and just guessing spent way too much building the store as well but not sure on that.
      Put this by a college campus and maybe you have a shot but Atlantic Ave int the place IMHO.
      I wish the owner luck.

    • Al.Bender says...

      My wife and I ate at Hiway. The food is as good as all the other upscale fast food burger places in the area. The location isn’t very good. Only time will tell if it makes it or not.

  32. RE says...

    I ate here once. delicious cheeseburger and ff priced right.
    I have passed this place at least 10 times since I was there about 5 weeks ago and it really isn’t very busy. Don’t know what it does all the time but I have to agree with others here that the location maybe really hurting business.

  33. RCA says...

    Now I’ve seen it all.
    I was on Atlantic about 2 hrs ago and HiWay’s whole block has some kind of construction going on with scaffolding blocking all of the stores.
    HiWay’s location leaves a lot to be desired and now someone throws up construction crap to block the view of the store even more.
    By the way HiWay’s burger and ff are better than In N Out by a mile.

  34. HT says...

    Jeff
    Live within walking distance of HiWay.
    Good food
    Based on walking in he area every day, I’d say that HiWay isn’t doing great business.
    Hope it makes it, but my gut call is that it’s struggling.

  35. the loon and the bird says...

    I work across the street at Starbucks and want to be the first to say BYE BYE Hiway Burger

  36. philip lattio says...

    I ate at the Hiway this weekend food was ok but the burger had to be the smallest burger i have ever eaten noticed that whoever built this place went for a pretty penny. dont think they are gonna last very long what i shame the owner must be sick to his stomach

    • FDS says...

      Great looking restaurant.
      Great buildout.
      HORRENDOUS LOCATION. NOT ENOUGH FOOT TRAFFIC.
      The owner obviously didn’t know anything about the fast food industry. The guy should have put this in South Beach or inside a regional mall. There is no way that the current spot makes it.

  37. Joe says...

    This a food review site. It’s to review the quality of the food not if the restaurant is going to survive, if it’s in a bad location, or if the owner spent to much money. Guess what its not your money so why worry about it. Maybe you should be concerned with your pathetic lives that all you have to do is make sh@t up and post on this so called review site.So all you morons on here posting things of that nature. Need to get a life. One little fat moron in general. You kow who you are…

    • IR says...

      Joe
      Jeff Eats is a whole lot more than just a site that reviews restaurants. Unlike most other blogs, in addition to food, restaurant decor and prices all types of topics are discussed. Like stocks, bands and what is and isn’t a service dog. That’s what makes Jeff Eats a great read.
      Just saw your post where you mention that things like a restaurant’s viability or it’s location shouldn’t be open for discussion. You are so wrong that it isn’t even funny,
      If a restaurant has a lousy location it might be argued that it doesnt do much business and from that it maybe argued that it isn’t selling a lot of food and from that the question of food freshness might enter the conversation,
      On an owner maybe spending too much on building a store and lead to an argument that the owner cuts back on food portion size or charges more than he should to make sense of his investment.
      I have eaten at Hiwayand enjoyed the food. I never even thought about its location or how much the store cost to build while I was eating.
      What I do appreciate is that this forum allows eople to express their opinions and isn’t limited to a cursory review of a French fries or onion ring.
      In looking at the comments there seem to be many more pro than con for the business.

      • BOBBY C says...

        ir,
        good thoughts.

    • JeffEats says...

      Joe:

      Just had a chance to read your comments.

      Based on your comments, Jeff Eats is gonna guess that you have more than just a “passing” connection to HiWay.

      Just so you know, Jeff Eats isn’t just a site where the quality of the food is described.. It has always been a blog where I and readers can discuss almost anything.

      Thanks for reading…

      • BOBBY C. says...

        Hey Jeff,
        Betcha a buck that there are a ton of posts from people CONNECTED to this joint on both sides of the aisles.
        Wanna bet?

        • JeffEats says...

          BOBBY C.

          Just had a chance to read your comments.

          Sorry, no bet here because I hate to lose.

          Thanks for reading…

      • franz says...

        Bonsoir,
        Though i cannot 100% prove it Joe and Exssive and a few other of the stellar comments are the owners of Hiway Burger.

    • jamie says...

      joeleen i was wondering with the great success of the first hiway burger when will the braintrust be opening the other 45 planned stores

  38. RONNIE R. says...

    Ive eaten there.
    Burger, fries, shake all good.
    Love the retro look.
    Reasonable prices.
    Quick, pleasant service.
    That’s how this consumer sees it.

    As far as a businessman goes, I see a crap location, too small of a restaurant, relatively big investment.

    There is an old saying about the restaurant business, “You want to eat in them not own them.”

    I wish the owners well.

  39. mike says...

    Heard that HiWay Burger is going to close its doors is this true

  40. rg says...

    new store front looking great , food good as usual

  41. Jacobi says...

    This afternoon my wife and I went to the Art Festival in Delray. Beautiful day and lots of people. At 3:15 pm I looked in HiWay’s window and there were exactly three people eating with no one on line to order. From 3:15 pm to 3:35 pm we sat across the street outside at Starbucks and in that whole time no one walked into HiWay. Not a good situation, I would think!

  42. Gregg L. Friedman MD says...

    HiWay Burger offers great Burgers and French Fries. My food was very good and the service was also very good. It is a nice place to get a quick meal. By Gregg L. Friedman MD, Psychiatrist, Hallandale Beach, FL

  43. Max says...

    I went to HiWay finally yesterday. I have passed the joint many times in my trips to Delray. I was considering going to get a cheesesteak next store, but I decided to try something new.

    I’m glad I did. I wasn’t feeling super hungry so I just got the regular cheeseburger. My friends got the “hiburgers” (not sure if thats the actual name) and they loved them. I wasn’t sure what the difference was, but the person working there was nice and explained it to us. They also have vegetarian patties. I have several friends that would appreciate that.

    Anyways, the burger was WAY better than I expected (especially for the low price). The fries portion was extremely generous as well. I’m glad I came in and hope to go again soon.

  44. Sid L. Turner says...

    Loved the cheeseburger and ff.
    One of best fast burger places.

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