Old Town Grill made a comeback in this year’s Burger Week, marking their fifth win in nine years.
Corbin Tourism and Convention Commission’s annual Burger Week competition ran June 8-13. On Monday, Corbin Tourism announced Old Town Grill as the winner on Facebook.
The Bourbon Street Beast, Old Town Grill’s entry for 2026, featured bourbon candy bacon, fried green tomatoes and fried mac and cheese on top of a brisket-blend patty. Owner Mike Caffrey said the managers at the restaurant looked at their standard menu items for what they could incorporate into a winning burger.
“You can do a burger a million ways, but how do you make it good? This year, we looked at a different grind of meat, a brisket-blend,” Caffrey said. “Plus, we’re in the south. Who doesn’t like fried green tomatoes, bacon or fried macaroni and cheese? It all goes together.”
Old Town Grill kept a three-year winning streak from 2022 to 2024 before The Depot came out on top in 2025. Caffrey said Matthew Caffrey, his son and one of the managers at the Corbin Old Town Grill, wanted to guarantee their 2026 burger would be the best in town.
Caffery said he and the managers worked hard on Burger Week in memory of his oldest son, Michael Caffrey, who ran the Corbin Old Town Grill before he died in 2023.
“It’s huge for us, and it’s huge for the community. It brings a lot of people in you normally wouldn’t get throughout the year,” he said.
Caffrey said Burger Week gives Old Town Grill a 20-25% increase in sales because of the promotion from Corbin Tourism. He said the restaurant sold more than 600 of this year’s burger during the event, which averages to around 100 each day of Burger Week.
“Corbin has made it something very special, so people look forward to it every year,” he said. “I think it’s creative, and the marketing tourism has done has been helpful getting locals into the restaurants.”
Some past Burger Week entries have become signature menu items like the Jalapeño Burger and Smokehouse Burger. Caffrey said while the Bourbon Street Beast could become a menu item going forward, it would likely cost $17-18 for the restaurant to make a profit off of it.
“The fried mac and cheese is also a little harder to do every day, so we’re looking at it,” he said. “To put that as an everyday item, would somebody be willing to pay $17-18 for a burger? In this economy, I don’t know.”
