Jackson Hole Burgers Quietly Defined NYC's Gourmet Burger Scene Since 1972

NEW YORK, June 4, 2026 — Long before Shake Shack turned the city's burger scene into a global conversation, a family-run chain called Jackson Hole was already drawing crowds, celebrities, and future Hollywood stars to its counters and it has been doing so since 1972.

Founded three decades before Shake Shack served its first patty, Jackson Hole Burgers remains one of New York City's most enduring and quietly beloved restaurant institutions, a four-location chain that has outlasted trends, recessions, and a rapidly changing dining landscape while staying entirely in the hands of the Meskouris family.

Jackson Hole Burgers NYC: A Name Born From a Renovation Discovery

Brothers Jimmy and Chris Meskouris opened the first Jackson Hole at 232 East 64th Street on Manhattan's Upper East Side in 1972. The name came from an unlikely source: a National Geographic article about Jackson Hole, Wyoming, found tucked under the floor during renovations. The brothers also happened to live in Jackson Heights, Queens, which sealed the choice.

The original location set the template that still defines the brand today an open kitchen, fresh ingredients, and burgers made to order from a proprietary house-aged beef blend. The chain's signature is the seven-ounce patty, a thick, savory, charred-crust burger built at a time when fast, thin, and mass-produced dominated the American burger market.

Seven-Ounce Patties and a Menu That Goes Far Beyond the Basics

Jackson Hole's burgers are not smash burgers. They are substantial, filling, and deliberately old-school in their commitment to size and flavor over speed. Each patty delivers a caramelized, charred exterior with a juicy interior the result of a beef blend the chain has kept consistent for more than five decades.

The topping options span everything from brie, bacon, and blueberry compote to pepper jack cheese, Flamin' Hot Cheetos, pineapple salsa, sriracha mayo, and truffle mac and cheese. Smash burger variations, bison patties, salmon, turkey, and veggie alternatives round out a menu that also includes curly fries, sweet potato fries, dinner entrées, salads, sandwiches, and desserts.

The Murray Hill location has operated since 1983, serving the same open-kitchen format that lets diners watch their meal come together in real time. Current locations operate across Manhattan, Astoria in Queens, and Englewood, New Jersey.

Celebrity Regulars and a Hollywood Connection

Jackson Hole's reputation extends well beyond its burger menu. The chain counts an unusually long list of celebrity regulars, including Jerry Seinfeld, Denzel Washington, Derek Jeter, Diane Sawyer, Ed Sheeran, Harvey Keitel, Wyclef Jean, and multiple U.S. presidents among its longtime patrons, according to the restaurant's own records.

The chain's most-cited connection to pop culture, however, involves Jennifer Aniston. Before landing her role as Rachel Green on Friends, Aniston worked as a server at the Jackson Hole Upper West Side location. That location closed in 2016 after 42 years of operation. Actor John Ortiz also worked at the chain before his career took off, and both are described by the Meskouris family as permanent members of the Jackson Hole family.

A Family Business That Has Never Chased Scale

What separates Jackson Hole from its competitors including Shake Shack, which launched in 2004 and now operates hundreds of locations globally is a deliberate choice to stay small. Now into its third generation of family ownership, the chain has never pursued aggressive expansion or franchise deals. Alexander Meskouris, a third-generation Greek-American, currently helms the business with the same emphasis on consistency that his family established more than 50 years ago.

That restraint has created an if-you-know-you-know reputation that loyal regulars guard closely. On neighborhood forums, Jackson Hole regularly draws the kind of endorsements reserved for personal discoveries rather than brand-driven chains. "BEST BURGERS EVER," reads one frequently cited Yelp review of the Astoria location, which operates inside the historic Air Line Diner building near LaGuardia Airport a space the Meskouris family purchased and chose to preserve, keeping the original Air Line Diner sign intact.

In a city where restaurant concepts rise and collapse within months, Jackson Hole's 54-year run speaks for itself. It preceded Shake Shack by three decades, predates the gourmet burger movement by a generation, and keeps serving the same seven-ounce patties to a new generation of diners who find it the same way its regulars always have by word of mouth.

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