Member Spotlight: RAD Burger MCR

RAD Burger MCR is a venture born out of defiance. Initially beginning as a garden party offering for friends and family, the business has grown into a fully-fledged independent business that has allowed owner Rob to leave the 9-5 grind as well as bring his brother into the fold.

Having a fairly stable job working in marketing for Kellogg’s, founder and co-owner Rob Radford found himself nurturing a passion for providing burgers of excellent quality for friends and family at informal garden parties.

Not one to get too carried away with feedback, Rob lightly brushed off some of the compliments his efforts garnered as it had all come from loved ones and friendly voices. Having enjoyed the experience of cheffing up some smash burgers regardless, it was the onset of COVID and subsequent lockdowns that gave Rob the chance to see the potential in his hands:

“In that period of lockdown where you could socialise with certain people, we started inviting neighbours over for little gatherings. When they said the same as my family had about the burgers, I started thinking more about it.”

Sometimes when opportunities present themselves you have no choice but to give them a go. This is what happened when, with the lifting of lockdown and life starting to pollinate once more, Rob approached his local pub who had previously hosted street food residencies but happened to have an empty kitchen. A trial session was put on for the bar staff first, which went down famously, as did the first official evening of operation in December 2021.

“Paying customers were raving about it, it was incredible. I found it mind blowing that people were paying for food I was creating but also so effusive in their praise. The idea then was that this could be a good side hustle for me.”

As the name suggests, they are a from Manchester, and it didn’t take long for word to spread about RAD Burger MCR and enquiries to feed hungry locals in the area and beyond filled in. The plan was “to do one weekend a month and it got to the point people were contacting me left, right and centre. We came to the year anniversary of setting up, I was balancing both the business and my full-time job and felt one had to go. I can always fall back into the office world, but the chance to really see how far RAD Burger MCR can go isn’t an everyday occurrence. So, I made my decision and went for it.”

Admittedly a realist, Rob was under no illusion as to the world he was stepping into – as much as there is always demand for burgers, it can be a saturated market in the current climate so standing out is important. Having gained effusive feedback across a spread of different events and venues, Rob felt the confidence to push forward and feels the business has now “found our niche”.

Rob credits quality produce as essential in creating a product that will stand out in a busy crowd, sourcing all of their meat from a local butcher in West Yorkshire.

“It’s all high welfare British Yorkshire beef. The taste really comes through, and I know it’s cliche, but you do get what you pay for. It’s not a mass produced, mass farmed product, so the price isn’t the cheapest – but we’re not here trying to sell the cheapest burger. We’re trying to provide a really quality product and experience.”

As much as the product is centre of the operation and experience that customers have with RAD Burger MCR, the personable approach of really taking the time and effort to speak with their audience lives long in the memory and has gone a long way to establishing the affable reputation of the business.

Typically a streamlined operation, when Rob realised the potential and demands of the business he sought within his circle and brought his own brother into the fold, really making RAD Burger MCR a family affair. Both love socialising, and what better industry to channel that than independent hospitality? It is a people business after all, and the Radford’s love the chance to chat and even have banter with the customers they’ve come to know as friends.

When trading as a pop-up at a pub for example, something they’ve done a few times now, the duo have repeatedly endeared proprietors for how engaged they are with customers and landed themselves open and warm invitations to come and trade again – to the extent that at the beginning of 2025, they were already looking at a calendar stacked with bookings.

A risk-averse mindset could be considered something of a necessity in the modern climate for running an independent hospitality business and has largely informed the approach RAD Burger MCR operate towards conducting business – to the point they’ve found themselves in the ‘nice problem’ situation of having to turn down venues and offers due to already having trading commitments penned in. Rob mentions that it “can be stressful having to rejig a planned weekend off to accommodate a new trading opportunity but we always look to accommodate new venues where we can!”

It’s not every day you’re able to run a business with a sibling and this is something Rob doesn’t take for granted. While demanding work, the lifestyle balance has allowed them both freedoms that previous jobs didn’t. There is also no underestimating the value of having a trusted voice to navigate the world of running a business with – the two are able to keep each other focused, in check and crucially there is a strong level of trust in the everyday running of the business. Aspects like quality control for example are huge, particularly for a small independent.

Always keen to explore new food territory and experiment with menu ideas, Rob enjoys the chance of offering regular customers off-menu dishes and ‘prototype’ burgers. This is a great way to test out products and see if they are menu worthy and give customers something special at the same time. One recent example was a chicken kiev burger infusion that involved garlic butter and sterling feedback, also the opportunity to tell a customer that they are “the world’s first person to try the RAD chicken kiev burger!”

When asked which dish a new customer that really wanted to understand what RAD Burger MCR are about should try, Rob points straight away to the OG burger: “The OG is the Rad burger. It’s a classic BBQ cheeseburger with some extra elements like sliced gherkins, some red jalapenos to provide a spice kick to balance the sweetness of the barbecue and crispy onions.”

An honourable mention goes to the nacho chili cheeseburger, favoured by brother Thomas – consisting of two patties, a Mexicana cheese slice, crispy onions, jalapenos, salsa, chipotle mayonnaise with nacho chips – there’s a central focus on providing a real textural experience with each burger, considering the compliments and contrasts of combined ingredients, and ensuring an all-important crunch. Something Rob notes that “you don’t always get with a burger,” but RAD Burger MCR have found great scope to implement.

Crafting burgers that live long in the memory is not rocket science and nor should it be. The beauty of RAD Burger MCR lies largely in the simplicity of approach – they know good burgers and how to make them. It does not need to aspire to gourmet proficiency to stand out and wow tastebuds, and customer input can be as key as any ingredient thrown into the mix: Rob speaks on the importance of listening to customers and taking feedback on board. Another staple of their operation are their revered masala fries – to the point he recalls “being told off” by customers when they’ve been taken off the menu!

The brother duo are in no rush to seek global domination and are understandably cautious about growing too fast. They have already found just how demanding running a street food operation can be – while no longer tied to the rigours of a corporate 9-5 lifestyle, there is always something to do or work on for the business, which can take a bit of balancing.

Measuring success in the independent hospitality sector can be a diverse undertaking. For Rob, it simply boils down to “having financial security and something that I’m proud to be working on. Life is too long a time to not enjoy what you do – there’s a social aspect to it as well as the mental, in terms of not being bogged down or stuck in work you don’t want to be in.”

Instead, they’re now curating the kind of environment customers long for and look forward to, by delivering top quality burgers and an endearing social sense of experience that has earned them a staunch horde of regulars and a blossoming reputation in the local area and beyond.

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