Sales Profit Indigent : Burger Stand Opens to Help the Homeless

It was presented as an opportunity for the homeless to get a job, find housing and acquire job skills--all at the same time.

The site was unpretentious--a brightly painted hamburger stand next to a car wash on Washington Boulevard in Central Los Angeles.

On Saturday, the tiny restaurant held its grand opening, although the first burgers will not hit the grill until later this week. And the reception was a bit less than grand. But to organizers, it was the beginning of a dream begun five months ago on a shoestring fund-raising effort.

All proceeds at Burger-Up on Washington near Crenshaw Boulevard will go toward expanding homeless shelters and training the unemployed for jobs in food service, said Shirley V. Quarmyne, executive director of Queue-Up, a nonprofit group that counsels and houses the homeless.

‘It Exists’

The group has room for 24 people in each of two three-bedroom houses, one in La Puente, the other in Lake Hughes, near Lancaster. The houses operate through a grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

“Look at it,” said Quarmyne as a banner with the restaurant’s name was hoisted over the doorway. “It’s a fait accompli. It exists!”

Even before she started Queue-Up in June, 1986, Quarmyne had her eye on the ramshackle hamburger joint next door to Freddy Dee’s Automated Hand Wash.

She had talked car wash owner Fred Lawson into getting involved in her cause. He donated money and volunteered his time, but she kept after him about the burger stand.

“Every time I came by, I coveted it,” Quarmyne said. “I thought I’d found a way to generate income for the program and employ the homeless at the same time.”

In the meantime, Lawson, 32, was getting impatient. The restaurant was losing money--in the four years that he had owned the property, three different proprietors had been unable to pay the rent.

No Track Record

And Quarmyne was getting frustrated. Despite her energy and commitment to helping the homeless, doors kept getting slammed in her face because her program was new and had not established a track record.

Last October, she finally persuaded Lawson to lease the place to Queue-Up for $1 a year.

Lawson estimated he could lose $5,000 on the venture, but the cause would be a worthy one.

Over the last few months, Quarmyne has hired homeless workers to give the hamburger stand a thorough cleaning and a fresh coat of paint. She has also persuaded Collins Foods Inc. to donate equipment.

Quarmyne’s goal is to make about $600 a day from food sales at the restaurant. Burger-Up opens for breakfast at 8 a.m. and closes at 5 p.m. Its menu will include eggs, sausage, bacon, hot dogs, pan-fried potatoes and, of course, burgers.