Necessity has been called the mother of invention, and that was the case for René Saucedo, owner and operator of a gourmet hot dog and hamburger stand in Torreón, Coahuila, who saw his sales slump due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Forced to lay off one of his two employees and facing the possibility of closing down for good, Saucedo came up with a gimmick suited to the current health crisis and invented the “coronaburger.” 

“We had to get something good out of this very difficult situation we are experiencing,” Saucedo says. 

The owner and operator of Zhunckos, a business he opened three years ago after abandoning his former career as a security guard, designed a brioche bun replete with wart-like peaks representing the virus and painted it with green food coloring. 

Inside he stuffs the burger with gouda, cheddar and manchego cheeses, bacon, pickles, red onion, bourbon sauce, spinach and guacamole. He says it took him a week to come up with the design for the bun and find the right combination of ingredients.

The coronaburger has proven popular, especially with doctors who order it out of curiosity, and has meant Saucedo can still provide a living for his wife and two children. 

“People like it, they think it is funny,” Saucedo says. He worried at first that customers might be offended, and realizes that the novelty will soon wear off, but for now, the coronaburger is helping him get through the health and economic crisis, one green bun at a time.

Source: El Universal (sp)