Burgermaster plans expansion in WA with mixed-use development

The age-old Seattle-area burger chain, Burgermaster, is developing a mixed-use project in Marysville.

Burgermaster filed permits for a 2,200-square-foot drive-in restaurant located at 8925 35th Avenue, according to The Puget Sound Business Journal.

The other part of the project includes constructing a building with 9,600 square feet of office space and 17 residential units on top.

Drive-in restaurant, apartments, office space planned for Marysville site

Bothell-based Grey Belle LLC, an entity tied to Burgermaster, previously purchased the lot in April 2024 for $2.1 million, according to Snohomish County records obtained by the Puget Sound Business Journal.

“We put a residential, kind of mixed-use building there, because the city said, ‘Hey, we got to have something there,'” Alex Jensen, owner and CEO of Burgermaster, said. “We’re still developing plans on what that’s going to be, but we’re hoping it’s something that’s a synergistic use that can complement what we have and maybe provide customers flowing both directions.”

The project will be built out in phases, with a Burgermaster food truck expected to operate on the site by the end of the year as construction on the restaurant is underway. Burgermaster’s new restaurant has a projected cost of $5 million and is slated to open in 2027. The mixed-use development is expected to be completed in 2029.

Burgermaster currently operates four locations in Aurora, Bellevue, Mill Creek, and Mount Vernon, with its fifth location planned to open this Summer in Issaquah, inside the former Triple XXX Rootbeer Drive-In building.

Burgermaster leases its Seattle and Bellevue restaurant locations, while owning both properties in Mill Creek and Mount Vernon, which Jensen noted was a “good investment for the family.”

“I’m delighted for the stability that is created when we own our own property,” Jensen said. “It enables us to focus more on operations, making our customers happy, making our employees happy, and to really dig in and build roots in the community. Because we know we’re going to be there for a long time.”

Burgermaster’s University Village flagship closed in 2025 after 73 years

In February 2025, Burgermaster closed its 73-year-old flagship store in University Village after its lease was terminated.

The reason for the closure was that Burgermaster did not own the land where the location sat, along with a number of parcels that included the boarded-up Safeway next door, which are being bundled for a new $400 million project that includes a 944,700-square-foot mixed-use apartment building.

“Trying to find land in the University District is very difficult,” Jensen told The Puget Sound Business Journal. “Anywhere in the Seattle area, to make it pencil out where you can afford to buy the land and run a restaurant is tough. Even leasing is very difficult, especially with our menu prices. We’re not selling steaks and alcohol.”

As Marysville is one of the fastest-growing cities in the state, Burgermaster looks to build on that momentum by supporting the community not just through hamburgers but as a good “partner.”

“We look forward to being a part of that Marysville community and supporting the community, not just through jobs and hamburgers, but by just being a good partner,” Jensen said.

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