Meet the Chef: Bull City Burger and Brewery in Durham, North Carolina

We sat down with executive chef and owner Seth Gross of Bull City Burger and Brewery in Durham, North Carolina. In the heart of Durham, Bull City Burger and Brewery is known for its farm-to-table approach to classic American comfort food, with a focus on transparency and quality. Burgers are made from pasture-raised beef that’s ground in-house, paired with scratch-made toppings and buns, while the on-site brewery produces small-batch beers designed to complement the menu.

Bull City Burger and Brewery in Durham, North Carolina: Meet the Chef

Everything is prepared with a hands-on philosophy—from butchering and grinding to brewing and baking—creating a dining experience rooted in craftsmanship and local sourcing. Guests return for the honest, ingredient-driven approach, where every burger and beer reflects a commitment to freshness, flavor, and doing things the right way.

Tell us about what your morning routine looks like, and how you like to end your day?

Our commitment to making everything in-house is extreme. It's a core part of our restaurant's DNA, rooted in my fine dining background and training at the Culinary Institute of America. This means we start early! Our bakers arrive at 5:30AM to begin the fresh buns and soft pretzels. The butcher follows at 7AM to grind the beef, with produce and other food deliveries typically arriving around 9AM. We truly cut no corners, embracing what we call “the long, hard, stupid way.” This means we make everything from scratch: the mayonnaise, the mustard, pickles, relish, sauerkraut, bacon, hotdogs, buns, soft pretzels, the sauces, the ice cream, pound cake, and much more. We even bake our own graham crackers just for the crust of our margarita cheesecake.

The days end with a deliciously drinkable low-alcohol beer like our 27701 Mild or Durhamer Ale. These styles have tons of flavor, are thirst quenching, and allow me to keep a level head because I’m already thinking about tomorrow. Being a brewery I have to “drink the talk.”

Do you have a favorite chef that you look up to and what advice would you give to aspiring chefs?

I don’t have a favorite, but I have been very lucky to work with and around so many talented chefs and cooks over my career. I have gleaned a lot of good habits and techniques from the people who came before me, and I hope to pass that onto the folks who work with me today. The best advice I ever received applies to pretty much any job. Do everything your boss asks you to do, and then just a little bit more. That will get you so much farther than just about anything in the kitchen, or in life.

Do you have any awards or achievements you’d like to mention?

We have had a good run! Bull City Burger and Brewery won the NC Brewer’s Cup in 2017 and then the NC Business Council’s Small Business of the Year in 2018. We were the first certified B-Corp brew pub in the world and only the fourth brewery to achieve that recognition. We have been rated gold level in sustainability by the City of Durham. We received the Bravo Alpha Foundation’s “Community Contributor Award” from the North Carolina Brewers Guild. We have received the “Outstanding Service” award by the North Carolina Business Council in appreciation for “Visionary Leadership in Business Sustainability.” We’ve won gold, silver and bronze medals for our beers, and locals have voted us best burger, best veggie burger, and best fries over the years.

What do you typically cook at home?

At home it’s pretty much regular cooking for my family. I only get a bit fancy on a holiday. I do “preach” through food and believe you are what you eat, so I definitely make things from scratch with fresh ingredients for my kids even if it’s macaroni and cheese or a simple roast chicken. At home and in the restaurant, there are no trans-fats, no high fructose corn syrup and we avoid foods with long ingredient lists as well as preservatives.

What’s a food trend that you’re loving right now and why?

I’m not sure it’s a trend, but I love tried and true classical cooking techniques. We actually infuse a lot of classical cooking into our daily special burgers and sauces. Whether it’s something simple like garlic sautéed wild foraged mushrooms for a topping, or a pig's head cooked into a torchon and deep fried on top of a burger, I love to put things on burgers that people don’t expect. Our signature sauce is a tarragon mayonnaise (i.e. cold sauce béarnaise). We also get playful and do things like celebrate Elvis’ birthday in January with a peanut butter, banana, and bacon burger. We’ll make traditional cochinita pibil from Mexico as a topping or model a beef hotdog into a Reuben dog with house-made ‘kraut, gruyere cheese, and real Russian dressing from scratch. Boston baked beans? Yep. Philly cheesesteak? Yep. House stretched and smoked mozzarella cheese? Yep.

What drink do you enjoy most?

Well, that would have to be our beer. We are a craft brewery with 8 taps, and we only sell the beer we brew. We actually produce over 65 styles of beer and almost weekly something new is on tap. I truly love our diversity-British Ales, German Lagers, Belgian styles, you name it. So many different styles keep me thirsty for something new all the time. I also love the seasonality of beer. Wheat beers in the hot summer and darker, richer beers in the winter frozen tundra of North Carolina!

Have you ever cooked for a celebrity? Do you have a story to tell?

Yes, quite a few. I don’t want to name drop. Being close to the Durham Performing Arts Center (DPAC) we have had a whole bunch of cast and crew from Broadway shows to comedians, musicians, and dancers. We try not to get too star struck. We also see amazing student athletes and coaches from both Duke University, NC Central University, and even some from UNC Chapel Hill. Some of them are big stars to our staff!

What’s Your Instagram So Readers Can Follow You?

Check us out on Instagram at @bullcityburger.

What’s the strangest food combination you’ve ever tried? And, did you like it?

Well... every April we hold “Exotic Meat Month” at Bull City Burger and Brewery. It’s a celebration of interesting meats and burger options “that may be abbey normal” to us in the U.S. but can be regular foods in other countries. So, we’ve made burgers with everything from yak, elk, iguana, emu, kangaroo, alligator, ostrich, beaver, python, and more. Do a web search for tarantula burger and see what comes up! I love these oddities. It’s fun to try unusual proteins and we research the local flavors where these are commonly enjoyed adding more authenticity. I’ve learned a lot about other cultures during April. My favorite comfort food, which may be unusual, is peanut butter and jelly on toasted rye bread with caraway seeds. It has nothing to do with burgers, and we don’t serve it, but you’ve got to try it! I’m still trying to find a beer to pair with that.

Why should readers visit bUll City Burger and Brewery?

Our attention to detail is similar to a fine dining restaurant, yet we are casual. You’ll be greeted with great Southern hospitality and be treated to high quality ingredients and cooking. I see a burger as a canvas to paint something creative. We do that every day. Being a chef is part artist and part tradesperson. We have tons of passion and only want our guests to be super satisfied every time. We have something for almost everyone. We do gluten-free, allergen-free, and we even have veggie burgers and 100% plant-based vegan burgers. Lastly, I want to acknowledge and express extreme gratitude for the entire team around me. I have folks who love what we do and have been with me 8, 10 and all 15 years. I couldn’t do it without them. When you come in, you will see their smiling faces and know that you are in a special place.

Fifteen years ago when I started Bull City Burger and Brewery, I said I was going to accomplish four things. First, we will make everything we possibly can in-house. Second, we will only work with locally raised, grass-fed beef with no added hormones or antibiotics. Third, we will brew world-class beer, and finally our goal was to be the best burger in Durham, then the NC Triangle region, then Eastern North Carolina, then the state of NC and one day to be considered one of the best burgers in the country. I said it may take us 25 or 50 years to get there! Well, thank you for this opportunity it looks like we are on our way.

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