Heff’s Burger Club

Heff’s Burger Club is a smash burger restaurant on the Fourth Street restaurant row in downtown Winston-Salem, NC, opened in August 2022 by husband-and-wife owners Justin and Heather Webster. Less than a year after the doors opened, the James Beard Foundation named Heff’s a semifinalist for Best New Restaurant — a substantial national nod for a small downtown burger counter.

The approach is straightforward: 4-ounce patties smashed thin on a flat-top so the edges go crispy, built with local North Carolina sourcing — Joyce Farms grass-fed beef, Niki’s Pickles, and buns from Annie’s Bakery. The house motto is “fine food, no fuss,” and the room carries a quirky, tattoo-shop-adjacent character that sets it apart from a standard burger joint, right down to the Art-o-mat machine in the corner.

Be sure to check out the pictures below to get a feel for Heff’s Burger Club before you go — or to relive the visit after.

From a Krankies Pop-Up to a James Beard Semifinalist

Justin Webster grew up the son of a chef — his father, Brian Webster, worked in food service for Aramark, including a decade as catering director at UNCSA. A Mount Tabor High School graduate, Justin came up through Winston-Salem kitchens including Hakka Chow, 4th Street Diner, Jeffrey Adams, and Honey Pot, then spent about two years at Krankies Coffee — first as sous chef, then head chef — where he built a following around the shop’s biscuit menu.

The burger idea came from a stint working a burger truck in Brooklyn. Smash burgers reminded him of the fast-food burgers of his youth, and the question that followed became the concept: what if a Whopper were elevated? What if a Baconator were?

The test came when Krankies asked him to put together a last-minute burger pop-up. They sold roughly 100 burgers in an hour. More pop-ups followed around the Triad — at one Hoot’s event in March 2022, the line was winding through the parking lot twenty minutes before he started cooking, and he sold out of nearly 200 smash burgers in under an hour.

That was enough to bring in investors. Webster signed the lease on 285 West Fourth Street — the former Mystic Ginger space — on March 27, 2022, spent about two months renovating, and opened August 5, 2022. The name comes from his wife, Heather Webster, and her affinity for burgers.

By 2023, the James Beard Foundation had named Heff’s a semifinalist for Best New Restaurant. Webster has also competed on Food Network’s Chopped, and credits the restaurant’s sauces and spices for much of its success.

The Burgers

A smash burger is a thin patty pressed hard onto a hot flat-top so it cooks fast and develops crisp, lacy edges. Webster describes his version as “big, wide, and yummy,” and the menu runs to roughly half a dozen burgers plus rotating additions.

The flagship is the Ladykiller — a smashed Joyce Farms grass-fed Angus patty with white American cheese, shredded lettuce, red onion, Niki’s Pickles, and black garlic sauce on a Martin’s potato roll. The Heffy Baby goes white American cheese, red onion, Niki’s Pickles, Lusty Monk mustard, and spicy ketchup. The SEOULMATE brings chopped baechu kimchi, hickory smoked bacon, and gochujang mayo. Other builds have included the Piggy Wiggy and the Figgy Piggy, and toppings across the menu run to griddled onions, pimiento cheese, and smoky Cheerwine barbecue sauce.

Beyond burgers, the kitchen turns out crinkle-cut fries (the yuzu mayo is worth ordering as a dip), poutine, and a chicken sandwich that regulars have started choosing over the burgers. The sourcing is the through-line — Joyce Farms beef, Annie’s Bakery buns, Niki’s Pickles, and a stated commitment to local and ethical suppliers across the menu. There’s a good soda selection, and the Art-o-mat — a repurposed cigarette vending machine dispensing small original artworks, a Winston-Salem-born concept — sits in the dining room.

Good to Know

• Location: 285 West Fourth Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27101 (Fourth Street restaurant row)
• Hours: Check the Heff’s Burger Club website for current hours
• Opened: August 5, 2022, in the former Mystic Ginger space
• Owners: Justin and Heather Webster; the restaurant is named for Heather
• Recognition: James Beard Foundation semifinalist for Best New Restaurant, 2023; Justin Webster has competed on Food Network’s Chopped
• The style: Smash burgers — 4-ounce patties pressed thin on the flat-top for crisp edges
• Signature burgers: The Ladykiller (Joyce Farms patty, white American, Niki’s Pickles, black garlic sauce), the Heffy Baby, and the SEOULMATE (kimchi, hickory smoked bacon, gochujang mayo)
• Also on the menu: Crinkle-cut fries with yuzu mayo, poutine, and a chicken sandwich
• Local sourcing: Joyce Farms grass-fed beef, Annie’s Bakery buns, and Niki’s Pickles
• In the room: An Art-o-mat machine — the repurposed-cigarette-machine art concept that started in Winston-Salem
• The motto: “Fine food, no fuss”
• Best for: Burger eaters, smash burger converts, local-sourcing enthusiasts, and anyone working through the Fourth Street restaurant row
• Pair with: The full Winston-Salem food and beverage cluster; Krankies Coffee, where Justin Webster was head chef before opening Heff’s; Camino Bakery on the same Fourth Street corridor; Foothills Brewpub further down Fourth Street; or Camel City BBQ Factory and Broad Branch Distillery elsewhere downtown

A Winston-Salem Highlight

Two hundred burgers in under an hour, with the line already wrapping the parking lot before the griddle was hot. That was a pop-up at Hoot’s in March 2022. By August, Justin and Heather Webster had a lease on Fourth Street. By 2023, the James Beard Foundation had them on the semifinalist list for Best New Restaurant. That is a fast trajectory for a burger counter, and it happened because the burgers are genuinely good.

The Ladykiller is where to start — Joyce Farms grass-fed beef smashed thin, white American, Niki’s Pickles, and black garlic sauce on a Martin’s potato roll. If you want the more interesting version, the SEOULMATE brings kimchi and gochujang mayo into the same format. Either way, get the crinkle fries and ask for the yuzu mayo.

What holds it together is the sourcing. Joyce Farms beef, Annie’s Bakery buns, Niki’s Pickles — the ingredient list reads like a who’s-who of North Carolina producers, which is a substantial commitment for a restaurant selling burgers and fries. Add the Art-o-mat in the corner, a machine concept born in this city, and Heff’s ends up feeling more rooted in Winston-Salem than the smash-burger trend that brought it here.

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Heff’s Burger Club Website

Heff’s Burger Club Instagram

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