Blog 9. Terra Burger: What were they thinking?

Right in between Madam Mam’s and Pipe Plus, there is a piece of real estate on Guadalupe St. that can’t seem to find the perfect fit. Restaurants come and restaurants go, and none of them seem to make a lasting impression on the fifty thousand college students that occupy the forty acres of UT campus five days a week.
As I thought about what I believed to be the perfect addition the “drag,” I noticed yet another effort to revive the space: Terra Burger. Terra Burger specializes in organic burgers and promises to offer only the freshest meat and produce supplied by certified organic local farms. This seems like it would definitely appeal to the whole foods eating, whole earth wearing population in Austin, but does Terra Burger realize it is located in the middle of a college campus?
My question for them: What makes you think that college kids will pay seven to eight dollars for an organic burger? College students are stereotypically not concerned with their health and more concerned with their bill fold. What about the Terra Burger is going to make a penny pinching college student spend a few extra bucks?
Maybe they are hoping that because it is located in Austin, it will draw in health conscious customers from all over the city. But there are few parking options on the drag, making it a pretty big hassle to get to the burger joint if you are not just passing by.
Maybe Terra Burger believes that there product tastes better than any competitor. Still, organic and healthy food typically has a negative correlation with a person’s belief that the food will taste good. Despite the facts, hamburger lovers with see a healthy burger sitting next to a greasy burger from Dirty Martins and assume the later will be way more satisfying. I think Terra Burger will have a problem getting this market to try their product.
Furthermore, I believe many health-conscience Austinites are either vegan or vegetarian. Although Terra Burger has several vegetarian options, I believe a burger joint can not rely on vegetarians to pay their bills.
I think that Terra Burger was looking for a place to expand their franchise. They saw Austin as the healthiest city in the nation. So it seems like the perfect place to expand their healthy mission. They noticed the heavily populated University of Texas campus and thought it was no brainer. Still, after roaming the streets of campus for nearly 4 years, I’d be surprised to see a Texas Fiji grab an organic burger for lunch. I’d be surprised if the longhorn athlete, who can rarely get enough calories in their stomach to make up for the ones they’re burning, would choose the healthy option. If the freshman girls who still have the metabolism of an elementary school student decided to suddenly start buying organic, I wouldn’t believe it. No student on scholarship who is paying for their education is going to pay a few extra dollars for the healthy choice.
Terra Burger probably has a market in Austin. But maybe they need to relocate to the Dell campus, where health conscience business professionals who don’t have time to exercise but have the money to spend on healthy living are looking for a place to eat out for lunch.
And for now…we will continue to find the missing link to the drag.