Salem. It is officially Burger Week.

By the time you read this, I'm probably downtown or at Lively at the Mill, eating a burger, listening to live music, soaking up the sunshine, and pretending I don’t need to put on sunscreen.

I’m grateful we have 21 restaurants decide to participate. And THREE sponsors step up and help make it possible. 

Burger Week is not just about the food. It is an encouragement to everyone in the city to get out, support the spots that make Salem worth living in, and remember that this city has something going on worth showing up for.

21 restaurants. $10 signature burgers. One week to eat well and vote for your favorite.

And today we are going to get to know the story of ONE of these restaurants just a little bit better. 

I sat down with Matt Adams this week,  one of the co-owners of Bo & Vine Burger. 

Matt didn't grow up wanting to be in the restaurant business. He was the kid going to flea markets, selling antiques on eBay, convinced that was his lane. His parents had a restaurant. He worked there in high school. He figured that chapter was behind him.

Then he started messing around with burgers in the kitchen.

2014. A food truck. Not even theirs.

Matt and his dad got access to a food truck through the Oregon Association of Realtors, in exchange for 10% of their sales. They parked it at the Barrel and Keg, Salem's first food pod, now permanently closed, which at the time was the center of gravity for that kind of thing.

They called it the Patty Wagon.

That's where Bo & Vine Burger started. A borrowed truck with a great name. A handshake deal. And some really good burgers.

Two years in, they were winding down. No events booked, no real plan. Ready to move on.

Then a Facebook message came in from a guy named Brian.

He wanted to take it brick and mortar. Matt said no. Brian came back three months later. And this time Matt's thinking was basically: if he's going to do it with or without me, I want to be part of it.

So he said yes. Brian's other investors all backed out. That opened the door to bring Matt's dad in as the third partner. All three, Matt, Brian, and his dad, are still co-owners today across every location. They found a downtown location. 

Soft opening: May 2017.

He thought he needed 8 or 9 people on staff.

He doubled that within the first month or two. He said he pretty much just hired anyone who walked in the door.

Some of those people are still with Bo & Vine Burger today.

Reviewers started calling it the best smash burger in the Willamette Valley. One person wrote that it's not just the fantastic food, it's the whole dining experience and the attention to detail. Another said the Pitmaster was the best smash burger they'd ever eaten, flavorful, moist, and the ingredients just blended perfectly. Someone else summed it up simply: hands down, their favorite burger spot in the Willamette Valley.

Within three months, the buildout was paid off. Completely debt-free. That's when they started looking at where else they could go.

They were in conversations with realtors in Bend. Nothing was clicking. Then someone called the restaurant and asked to speak to the owner. It was a guy trying to get out of his Corvallis space. Matt drove down the next day. Two weeks later they signed a lease. Three months after that, their second Bo & Vine Burger was opened.

Eugene came in 2020. They opened the same day everything shut down.

"That one was our biggest, most expensive buildout. We had tons of staff hired. We were ready for a huge opening. And then we were forced to basically not have it."

They opened takeout only. Got great press. Figured it out.

What makes Salem different

I asked Matt about the difference between the Salem market and the college towns, Corvallis, Eugene. His answer was something I think about a lot when it comes to this city.

He said Salem just feels more community-driven. More family-oriented. And a big part of it is that the owners actually live here.

"People feel like they've helped build what we are. They want to see it succeed."

More donation requests. More fundraiser asks. More genuine investment from the customer base. 

That's what happens when a business is actually rooted in a place.

In early 2025, Bo & Vine closed the doors on their downtown location for good.

Going from two Salem locations to one wasn't easy. Downtown was Matt's spot. He expected to be there forever. But the lease came up, the demographics pointed south (literally), and they made the call. You can find them now at 3969 Commercial St SE.

He said it was hard. He also said it was the right decision.

This is why Burger Week exists.

Salem has incredible restaurants. People who pour everything into their craft, their team, their community. And they need us to show up, not just when it's convenient, but intentionally.

Burger Week is the excuse. A reason to try somewhere new, go back to an old favorite, and put your dollars somewhere that actually matters to this city.

21 restaurants. One week. Your vote decides who wins Salem's Best Burger 2026.

That's it. That's the whole thing. Go eat.

$10 signature burgers. Daily $50 gift card giveaways. Community voting all week long. Winner crowned Salem's Best Burger 2026 on June 8th.

This year's participating restaurants:

Bo & Vine Burger · Retro Burger Company · Roger That BBQ · Smitty's Smash Burger · Damascus Kitchen · For Tomorrow We Die Brewing Co. · Lively Station · Lively at the Mill · Adam's Rib Smoke House · Angels Share Barrel House · Black Sheep Cafe · Athletic Edge Adventure Park · Cadillac Grille · ACME Cafe · Wolfhounds Bar & Grill · Venti's Cafe & Beer Vault · Heroes Tap House · Magnolia on the Green · Killer Burger · Slangers · Eat at Joe's

→ See all the burgers and cast your vote at whatshappeningsalem.com/salem-burger-week

Matt said something that stuck with me when I asked him about Burger Week:

"The more people that participate, the more events will happen."

First year. The restaurants showed up. Now it's on us.

Go eat. Vote. Share what you're eating. And support the spots that are still here doing the work.

That's Salem Burger Week. Let's make it count.