After years of running restaurants, owner Matthew Gonzales opened the original location of Ground in September 2015 on Mayfield Drive in Franklin with an eye toward filling a need in the Cool Springs lunch market.
“I took a step back and said, ‘Well, what’s missing on this side of the interstate?’” Gonzales said.
The answer the restaurateur came up with was a burger joint with simple, fresh ingredients and enough alternative menu options for health-conscious and picky eaters alike.
“We have something for everybody,” Gonzales said. “If you come give us a try, you won’t be disappointed.”
The menu features specialty burgers, such as the Four Alarm Fire, which is stuffed with pepper jack cheese and jalapenos and then topped with onion straws and house-made spicy ranch. Customers can also customize their own burger with the restaurant’s fresh ingredients and house-made sauces.
“A lot of people have gone away from things being fresh,” Gonzales said. “Especially in a concept that’s not full-service or fine dining, you just don’t see it as much.”
Monthly signature burgers are written on the chalkboard in the restaurant, and some specials make their way to the full-time menu, he said. Ground is adding one such monthly special, spicy Cajun chicken fingers, to the menu after customers proved they liked it, he said.
“The meat is seasoned in a certain way that I think is simple but flavorful,” Gonzales said. “And then we cook it on a flat-top ... a way that it maintains a lot of its natural flavor and juiciness.”
The fries are made from Idaho potatoes and are hand-cut daily and then double-fried to maintain crispiness, he said.
In addition to burgers, the restaurant offers po’boys inspired by Gonzales’ New Orleans roots and baked potatoes—dubbed “spuds” on the menu—such as the El Toro, which features chili, cheddar, jalapenos, onions and sour cream.
Gonzales—who opened a second location of Ground earlier this year on West Main Street—said the restaurant is successful because it sticks with the basics and does them well.
“I think sometimes people overdo things,” he said. “I think it’s about being consistent, sticking with the basics and then having a variety of different flavor profiles for people.”
Ground
330 Mayfield Drive, Ste. D4, Franklin
615-905-9350
1409 W. Main St., Ste. 301, Franklin
615-721-5962
www.groundrestaurant.com
Hours: Mon.-Thu. 11 a.m.-8 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m.-9 p.m., closed Sun.
Ground in Franklin offers customized burgers, sandwiches and baked potatoes
The Jordan's Sweet & Smokey BBQ Burger ($12) features a beef patty, Benton's bacon, onion straws, cheddar cheese and barbecue sauce. Wendy Sturges/Community Impact Newspaper
By Wendy Sturges
A Houston native and graduate of St. Edward's University in Austin, Wendy Sturges has worked as a community journalist covering local government, health care, business and development since 2011. She has worked with Community Impact since 2015 as a reporter and editor and moved to Tennessee in 2019.