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A burger joint is a North Carolina staple — and fans still flock there to get a bite.
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Now, after nearly 90 years of serving customers, Melvins’ Hamburgers & Hotdogs ranks as the state’s No. 1 place to eat a cheeseburger.
The long-standing Bladen County restaurant reigns supreme after the food and drink website Tasting Table said it sought to determine the best burger joint in each state.
“To accomplish this monumental task, we dipped into our own extensive repertoire of favorite cheeseburgers and scoured reviews, steering clear of large chain restaurants that can be found anywhere,” Tasting Table wrote in a report published Aug. 23.
“We focused on well-known restaurants with great reputations that have been around for many years, as the time itself is often an indicator of quality in a restaurant. But we were also open to newcomers with lots of social media or print media attention.”
Melvins’ is an icon in Elizabethtown, a roughly 100-mile drive south from Raleigh. Over the decades, the business stayed true to the way it seared beef patties and made its chili recipe, The News & Observer previously reported.
“This restaurant, open since 1938, is now a North Carolina institution, in part because it still serves very cheap cheeseburgers without sacrificing flavor,” Tasting Table wrote in its report. “It is especially known for its Carolina-style cheeseburgers, which in ‘all the way’ form come with mustard, onions, chili, and slaw and, as of 2024, cost under $5.”
Melvins’ also serves beloved hot dogs, which have helped to draw long lines of customers. But you likely won’t have to wait long to be served.
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“I’ve been coming for decades,” John Foley of Fayetteville previously told The N&O. “They have great burgers and the absolute quickest service that I’ve ever seen anywhere. These folks have it down to an absolute science.”
As of 2017, restaurant workers were spending roughly five seconds to make each order. The secret is a kitchen layout that’s designed for efficiency.
“Everything is exactly positioned as it was in 1938,” owner and operator Randy Harris told The N&O at the time. “We mimic the same steps, use the same hand motions. People who worked here 30 years ago could walk in here and get back in the serving line.”
Melvins’ topped the list before National Cheeseburger Day, which falls on Friday, Sept. 18 this year. Though the occasion pays homage to the classic food, North Carolina customers have raved about their favorite burgers month after month.
So much so, other North Carolina burger joints have made their marks on past best-of lists.
In 2024, Nick’s Old Fashion Hamburger House — located in the barbecue hub of Lexington — was named one of the nation’s top places to get a cheeseburger. And two years earlier, Island Burgers & Bites in Carolina Beach ranked as the No. 1 most loved burger joint in the state, The N&O previously reported.
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