Former Pop-Up Gotham Burger Social Club Opens Permanent Location on Essex Street
Founder Mike Puma had hosted many previous Gotham Burger popups in the Lower East Side.
After ten years of operating the famous Gotham Burger Social Club as a popup, former financial advisor Mike Puma has at last opened a permanent burger shop on the Lower East Side on the corner of Essex and Rivington.
Offering a simple menu of burgers, hot dogs, onion rings, and aperol spritzes, Gotham Burger Social Club is the latest addition to the city's and neighborhood's lineup of smash burger shops, joining the likes of 7th Street Burger and SMASHED in Hell's Square. Like his contemporaries, Puma is aiming for rapid expansion. In an interview with Forbes from just a month ago, he described the Lower East Side restaurant as "the first location".
Puma had hosted many previous Gotham Burger popups in the Lower East Side.
Previously, the space was home to Fancy Pharmacy, which according to Google Maps, occupied the space from at least 2007 until 2019.
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Pictured
131 Essex in April 2023
131 Essex in June 2019