SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Max Landon and Kelly McWilliams, owners of Get Rad Pizza, turned around The Melt’s food truck in just two weeks, transforming it into Furgs Burgs. The two said they were inspired by beloved California chain In-N-Out, bringing smash burgers with a more affordable price point to South Lake Tahoe.

McWilliams and Landon met in Santa Cruz, where they both worked in farmers’ markets. “You could see how big the lines were for hot food vendors and we both thought it would be cool to get into pop-up vending,” said Landon. When they had a brief stint in Portland, they also saw the thriving mobile food scene there. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they took the chance and started Get Rad Pizza in South Lake Tahoe.

“It was kind of a joke name,” said McWilliams. “Every time we would talk about pizza, we would call it ‘Get Rad’ and it eventually evolved into the business name. Now that the couple are adding burgers to their repertoire, Landon says the name Furgs Burgs also started as a joke. It comes from their dog that the two clearly adore, named Furgie.

It’s been a whirlwind ride for Landon and McWilliams to get Furgs Burgs up and running. Before they even decided to buy The Melt’s truck, the two of them were already thinking about a new menu.

“We were practicing the idea knowing that someday it could be a thing… and then it was,” said Landon. “We found out that The Melt was going to be closing down, we asked if they would be interested in selling the truck, and they were pretty enthusiastic about it.”

McWilliams credits their staff for how quickly everything came together, especially because the couple have a 3-month old to take care of. “So much of our growth is because of the awesome people who work with us,” she said. Landon added, “They basically run the show.”

Because of their background in sustainable agriculture and farming, their menu concept is driven by simplicity—which is a change from The Melt’s previous wide variety of accoutrements. “We were really interested in bringing a no-frills burger,” said McWilliams.

She continued, “We have Truckee Sourdough as a vendor, we’re using Central Valley tomatoes and we’re setting up a ranch in Minden as our meat source. We’re trying to keep things somewhat local.”

But one of the lessons they learned from Get Rad Pizza: taking notes from their customers. “When we first came here, we were thinking about Santa Cruz, so we had a lot of vegan options, Impossible sausage and things like that,” said McWilliams. “The Tahoe demographic really wanted more protein and things like that, so we are open to change.”

Landon spoke on other things they’ve picked up while running Get Rad Pizza. “There’s so many ways that five years of experience has helped. We have a better understanding of the industry and inventory management. We’re kind of data junkies, so we’ve been using that to help forecast what our demand might be and also how we can reduce food waste.”

He also attributed their fast turnaround time to their connections they’ve formed through working in the area. “It was more dialed this time,” Landon said. “We also had staff with experience in burger restaurants, training protocols and standard operating practices in place.”

While there are plenty of burgers in Tahoe (and plenty of pizza, too), Landon said he noticed people don’t have a singular go-to burger spot. “So how do you become the go-to spot? There’s room for that difference, especially around the price point.” McWilliams also said in her market research that most burgers in Tahoe are charbroiled, rather than smash burgers.

The opportunity to open Furgs Burgs came through Get Rad Pizza, and Landon described the relationship between their two food trucks there as “symbiotic.”

“That gives us more control of the hours and a bigger range of price points,” Landon said. “Plus, I can definitely see burgers being more popular during concert nights, when you might not want to be holding on to a slice of pizza.”

For the future, McWilliams and Landon plan to hang around at The Hangar, with plans to potentially expand to more food trucks—or even a brick and mortar in Carson City or Gardnerville.

“We’re open to feedback and we want to curate a selection of good ingredients to guarantee a good product,” said McWilliams. “We want to serve the community in a way they want.”

Furgs Burgs is open Thursday-Sunday from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at The Hangar.