First Look: A Gerard Butler Film Transformed This Milk Bar, Then Macgregor’s Brought Smash Burgers

Macgregor’s Original wasn’t meant to be a bricks-and-mortar operation. 

“Mac came to me and said, ‘We have this idea [for a food truck],’” says Laura Boulton, head chef at Heide Kitchen and a partner in the project. “I was like, ‘That’s sick – as long as we don’t open a shop. You don’t want a shop because it’s too much of a headache.’ And then the first thing we did was open a shop.”

Founded by powerlifting coach Macgregor McNair, entrepreneur Aaron Savrone and Boulton, Macgregor’s Original is a burger spot with a simple brief to make great American-style burgers.

“People have sort of lost their way with burgers,” McNair says. “The squeakiest wheel gets the most grease; the burger with the most stuff piled on it – the one dripping everywhere, the extreme stunt burgers – that’s what gets the attention. We’ve just pared it right back and tried to make really good, simple burgers.”

Here the menu is deliberately small with only three burgers – the signature cheese smash burger, an Oklahoma fried onion burger and the Macgregor junior cheeseburger – and chips cooked in beef tallow. The beef mince comes from North Carlton Quality Meats. It’s then griddled and layered with a pairing of American and Swiss cheese, and set on a lightly toasted, buttered Martin’s Potato Roll.

For McNair, authenticity is central to the project, but he’s not a purist. “I’ve tried to keep things close to the original primary source burgers in the US – the techniques and flavour profiles,” he says. “But authenticity also means making something that’s ours. Using local suppliers, building a community around the place – those layers are what make it feel real.”

In keeping with Boulton’s reputation as a zero-waste champion, Macgregor’s also puts a strong emphasis on maximising its ingredients. “We try to be super low-waste and create a circular system with our products,” Boulton says. Onions and pickle brine – two staples in the kitchen – are prime examples. The onion skins and leftover brine are dehydrated and powdered, then reworked into a punchy condiment that can be ordered on the side. As the kitchen settles into its stride, the occasional off-menu burger will also make an appearance, including a recent jalapeno-heavy reworking of the Oklahoma.

Stepping into Macgregor’s Original feels a little like wandering into a New York bodega. The site – formerly the Magpie Milk Bar and Deli – sat vacant for a year before being used as a set for the upcoming Gerard Butler film Empire City. (McNair says the production team designed it to resemble a Defonte’s-like sandwich shop.) The space has been left largely as it was for the production, with checkered tiles, wood-clad fridges and stainless-steel accents that give the small shop an American feel.

“I want all the locals to feel like this is their spot,” McNair says. “Their once-a-week burger.” But ultimately, the goal is to make a great burger. “I want people to eat our food and just think, ‘Fuck yeah, that was the best burger I’ve had’,” Boulton says. “And the best chips.”

Macgregor’s Original
212 Nicholson Street, Abbotsford
0485 002 000

Hours:
Thu 4pm–9pm
Fri & Sat 4pm–10pm
Sun 4pm–9pm

macgregorsoriginal.com
@macgregorsoriginal