Crazy G’s builds good burgers, sustainable practices

How do you earn a reputation as cooking and serving what some consider Spokane’s best burgers? For Gary Swiss and his wife, Chris, owners and founders of Crazy G’s, the formula was simple: make burgers for every customer in the same manner they’d make them on the backyard barbecue for dinner guests. This strategy seems to have worked well so far. Crazy G’s offers fresh ingredients, including locally-grown produce, plus solid beef patties, caramelized onions and signature Crazy Sauce, and all of these have helped the restaurant just north of downtown Spokane a decent following. Besides offering customers a great meal, there’s a related strategy going on at Crazy G’s: a conscious effort to leave as a light of an environmental footprint as possible. Like other restaurants that offer burgers and more, Crazy G’s goes uses a lot of cooking oil, enough to fill a 55-gallon drum each week on average, Gary Swiss said. “We use biodegradable oil,” he said. “All our soaps are biodegradable as well.” All paper products are also made from recycled materials, said Gary. A feature common to some burger places – a drive-through lane and drive-through window – also won’t be found here. “If you think about it, you can sit for 20 minutes in a busy drive-through with your motor running,” he said. Drive-throughs can also contribute to exhaust fumes wafting into a restaurant. Perhaps the most dramatic way the restaurant stays green is through energy-saving machinery. Massive exhaust hoods, which hang over cooking areas, are necessary staples of most restaurants since built-in giant fans help suck out hot air and push in cool air. For most restaurants, including Crazy G’s, the hood is the single greatest energy consumer in the building. Unlike most restaurants, however, Swiss says Crazy G’s hood utilizes sophisticated smart technology that automatically adjusts the fan’s RPMs based upon need. Gary said at most restaurants, fans either have to be turned on or off. But here, the smarter hood helps control the amount of power used, so energy consumption drops dramatically, and saves hundreds of dollars a month. The hood is the first of its kind in the area, as far as Gary is aware. The Swiss family tries to keep a realistic balance with their green efforts. More things could be done, Gary said, but not without having to dramatically increase the price of their food to compensate. “We do everything that is extremely practical and makes sense,” he said. He said some of the other burger places in town have had to lower their standards as they grow large or split into franchises. He’s not interested in going down that road, even if it means staying the same size. “I’ll shut the doors before I lower our quality,” he said. Crazy G’s is cozy, clean, and many people call it friendly. The Swisses do an excellent job of maintaining a small business atmosphere and building relationships with their customers. This includes letting customers know that all ingredients used in Crazy G’s are purchased in the United States, and locally if possible. This includes local produce when available. “I won’t [buy elsewhere],” he said. “It’s probably a little cheaper, but I won’t.” By eating at Crazy G’s instead of national chains, customers’ money stays in the Spokane area instead of going to franchise headquarters in other states, Chris said. The family believes in supporting the local economy because the local economy supports them. “We appreciate it when our people buy their food here,” she said. Many of the recipes used in Crazy G’s have been in the Swiss family for years. When they opened the restaurant, they simply utilized many of the dishes they had made for years on their home barbecue. A few had to be tweaked for the larger production scale, but the finished product remains essentially the same: charbroiled burgers, Phillys, and hot dogs, all served with Crazy Sauce and a smile. Meats are all high quality, such as Angus beef or New York deli-style pastrami. All vegetables are sliced and diced at the store, instead of being purchased pre-cut. Crazy G’s has been an enjoyable retirement project for Gary and Chris, a fact evident in their value of quality over profit. “As tired as we are by Saturday, we’re still having fun,” Gary said.