Photographs by Nick Solares unless otherwise noted.

David Schweid founded Burger Maker in 1978, setting up shop with a grinder and a patty making machine in Manhattan's meatpacking district. He didn't enter the market a complete novice though, having previously run a slaughterhouse in Nebraska for two years after graduating from the City College of New York with a degree in accounting.

But his experience was far deeper than just that—his grandfather emigrated from Poland and became a butcher on the Lower East Side during the early 20th century. The business prospered and the operations moved to 125th Street in the 1940s and eventually passed on to Sam Schwied, David's father. David Schweid worked at the company when he was young, gaining an understanding of the business before heading to college.

Left to right: Jamie, David, and Brad Schweid.

In 1978 he saw a niche in the market and decided to specialize in just one thing: hamburgers. He set up a business model that remains intact today, scaled up to a much larger volume. While most butchers had either a single van or a small fleet, Burger Maker contracted out the shipping, even today they don't own a single truck.

Back in 1978 the hamburger business was very different than it is today. Schwied recalls that the most notable burgers in the city at that time were from Beefsteak Charlie's, Bun N Burger, and the 21 Club. It was a time of transition however, as both McDonald's and Burger King had entered the New York City market in a concerted way, forcing the closure of smaller regional chains like Wetson's and the aforementioned Bun N Burger.

But Burger Maker was well placed in the market. They might not have been able to compete with the fast food giants on price, but they beat the pants off them in the quality department. While beef was sold mostly as ground chuck, Burger Maker also offered patties and actually began selling them directly to other butchers. Almost overnight Schweid's would-be competitors became his customers.

The company grew through the 1970s and early 1980s by serving the hotel and restaurant market with fresh ground hamburgers, and grew exponentially. When the consolidations in the beef industry started occurring in late 1980s Burger Maker, by virtue of its unique market position, was able to survive where many of the smaller butchers could not. Schweid notes that in many cases the slivers of real estate many meatpacking butchers owned were worth more than the businesses they ran.

Burger Makers business outgrew even the Big Apple, and the company moved to larger facilities in Carlstadt, New Jersey, in 1994. The move opened up whole new markets and the company started supplying customers as far away as Boston and Baltimore.

A Five Guys cheeseburger. Photograph: Robyn Lee

David Schweid's eldest son Jamie joined the company shortly after graduating college in 2001, predating another rapid expansion that saw the company growing to over 150 employees and distribution in over 20 states with a network of regional representatives. They took on Five Guys Burger and Fries as a client in 2003 when the chain had but six stores. Five Guys now have over 600 locations, and Burger Maker supplies a huge percentage of them with fresh chopped beef.

The family affair became a fait accompli when Schweid's other son Brad left behind a Wall Street job in the wake of the crash a few years back. His brother and father quip that he caused the whole collapse. If so, it was a shrewd move: Hamburger sales skyrocketed as the crash made mince meat of a steak economy and expense accounts dried up.

Burger Maker has never been busier. Their main facility operates around the clock five days a week in the winter months and six in the summer to accommodate the increased volume brought on by the outdoor grilling season. The plant is a modern facility that is kept at a chilly temperature and is jam packed with fancy machinery: grinders, bone separation equipment, patty machines, vacuum packers, and more.

Luis Avila has been with Burger Maker for over 20 years.

Since Burger Maker only makes chopped beef all of their burgers come from whole muscle rather than from the scraps and trimmings that many processors use. This ensures a better product overall, but also allows Burger Maker to offer a number of different blends, including niche products, in any size from a 1.3-ounce slider to a 1-pound jumbo burger. For example they offers a USDA Prime Certified Black Angus mix, an all natural hormone and antibiotic-free blend dubbed the "never/never" program, and the newly introduced New York Blend that is made of Angus chuck and porterhouse tails. But the most popular choice remains Burger Maker's original blend called the Steakburger.

While frozen burgers are offered, Burger Maker places a heavy emphasis on fresh beef, which accounts for 80-90 percent of their business. "We really try to steer the customer to fresh product," says Jamie Schweid. Nevertheless, there are some clients, especially institutional accounts, that will only accept frozen product. Burger Maker has found a way to better freeze patties by a eliminating many of the problems of shrinkage and burn. The solution is, of course, proprietary.

Aside from Five Guys and a host of other regional chains such as Foster's Grill, B & D Burger, and East Coast locations of Fatburger, they continue remain true to their roots and continue to supply restaurants through a series of regional distributors. In New York City, for example, you can find Burger Maker beef served at Mickey Mantle's, Village Pourhouse, and Joe's Best Burger in Flushing. They also offer hamburger patties to the public via Fresh Direct in select markets.