Gweilo Express: Burger Head starts new Asian eatery in Penrith
The brains behind cult western Sydney burger favourite Burger Head have combined to launch an new venture in the middle of a pandemic. Meet Gweilo Express.
Penrith
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One of Penrith’s most popular burger joints is expanding its borders.
Burger Head has been cooking their signature burger since January, 2017, but the owners now have their eyes on a new demographic.
The store found itself in the news in January when its promotional burger the ‘Better Mac’ drew a cease-and-desist letter from fast-food giants McDonald’s.
The owners have now opened Gweilo Express, a casual eatery focusing on Asian cuisine to go hand-in-hand with their already established brand on Henry St in Penrith’s CBD.
The three owners have previously worked in restaurants Quay, Ormeggio, Momofuku, and Master, and bring some of their previous expertise in Asian food to their new project.
Co-owner Josh DeLuca said Gweilo Express was a continuation of that experience.
“We all met at Master in Surry Hills, and Gweilo’s story starts as a continuation of what we were achieving at Master,” he said.
“Burger Head was where we went from Master, and we’re going back to our training with Gweilo and branching out into that sort of thing.
“You don’t usually venture away from your favourite Chinese restaurant, but we hope that once people try what we’re doing, it’ll be an easy swap for them.”
Fellow co-owner Timothy Rosenstrauss said they hoped Gweilo would follow a similar pattern to Burger Head.
“We’re applying the same philosophy that we did to our burgers – high-quality produce, fresh ingredients, and advanced techniques we want to apply to Asian food,” he said.
The owners originally planned to open a new storefront for Gweilo Express, but the COVID-19 pandemic changed their plans.
“We were very close to signing a lease in February, but we saw it wasn’t wise to open a restaurant in that climate,” Mr DeLuca said.
“We pulled the plug on that and decided to continue with our original plan of testing on Uber Eats.
“We created a brand and a bit of a following, and we launched it through Burger Head.
“We do intend to open a restaurant in the later part of this year once we see how the financial situation plays out.”
Co-owner Richard Borg said it gave them a chance to “try the food and gain feedback before opening the doors”.
Gweilo Express is described as modern Asian cuisine, and is available for order on Uber Eats and the Burger Head website.