The website Fast Food Club named Al’s Burger Shack in Chapel Hill as the best cheeseburger in North Carolina in a new list, which sought the best cheeseburger in every state.
“The beef is locally sourced, the toppings are creative and seasonally inspired, and every burger is cooked with the kind of attention usually reserved for fine dining,” Fast Food Club’s Sofia Delgado wrote, while noting that lines out the door are a “permanent fixture.”
Al’s Burger Shack was founded on National Cheeseburger Day in 2013 and has resided at its location at 516 West Franklin Street in downtown Chapel Hill ever since. The restaurant changed ownership in 2022, with Charlie Farris and Jason Kesler taking over for founder Al Bowers. Under Farris and Kesler’s leadership, Al’s Burger Shack opened an extension in 2025: the bar Puddin’s Beer Shack, located next to its parent business at 104 North Graham Street…