THICC Burger Opens at the Original Farmers Market

There’s a new burger place in the neighborhood. THICC Burger, the longtime popup created by Chef Jay Wolfe, opened this week at the Original Farmers Market. THICC Burger won the “New Originals” entrepreneurial competition hosted by the OFM last March. Small business owners with grocery, specialty food, and culinary products competed for a chance to win a prime brick-and-mortar location at the Market, rent-free for three months.

Wolfe (they/them), a successful private chef who amassed a social media following and loyal customer fanbase in LA and around the country, found out they won the OFM competition just last month. They quickly moved with their family from Atlanta back to LA and opened THICC Burger last week. Wolfe told the Buzz they entered the competition on the last day after they learned about it from friend and pickle supplier Scott Kaylin, of Kaylin and Kaylin Pickles, now a neighbor in the OFM.

Wolfe, who grew up in Inglewood said, “Opening my first location is exciting but having The Original Farmers Market be that location is extra special. If you live in LA, you know about this place. I grew up coming here every weekend, so this really feels like a full-circle moment.”

THICC Burger will be serving burgers and sandwiches all day alongside a delicious array of sides and shakes. The meat will be sourced from fellow Market vendor Huntington Meats using a special blend they created for Nancy Silverton for her burger place, Short Order, that operated for four years. There’s also a “Plant Daddy” menu for vegetarians, made with portobello mushrooms, and a “chicken” sandwich made with grilled cauliflower. You won’t find manufactured meat substitutes here. Wolfe told us they prefer to cook with real food. But you will soon find a puppy menu. Wolfe plans to offer “puppy patties” and “puppy ice cream.”

“We have something for everyone!” said Wolfe, who told us they are going for an old-fashioned family place serving good food. While we were there, Wolfe’s wife Courtney was working the front of the house and hosting family and friends of daughter Bailey, from nearby Hancock Park Elementary School.

We also got a chance to peek inside the kitchen and meet the THICC Burger team lead by Chef Nikki Cobb, who runs the kitchen. Cobb, also a private chef and instructor, knew Wolfe for years when the two lived in Atlanta. When Wolfe called last month with news they had won the OFM competition, Cobb, who had lived in LA attending CAL State LA as a dance major, took it as a sign that it was time to move back.

Naturally, we had to sample a burger and fries and check out the fried pickles — yes, fried honey mustard pickles! All delicious, capturing the energy and excitement of Wolfe and their team.

“There hasn’t been anything quite like THICC Burger [at the Original Farmers Market] for a while though, which makes the former pop-up’s arrival all the more special,” wrote Eater LA’s Farley Elliot. “Find burgers and all the rest at the market daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. (8 p.m. on Sundays).”