NFA Burger owner Billy Kramer joined What’s Up Dunwoody podcast host Matt Weber to talk about the final Burger Benefit, a one-day charity event on May 3rd that brings nine of the country’s best burger chefs to Dunwoody to cook for the Giving Kitchen. For anyone living in Dunwoody, this conversation is a reminder that this community has a way of attracting people who quietly do remarkable things – and keep showing up long after the cameras are gone.
Four Years In, and Going Out on Top
The Burger Benefit started with a simple idea: invite great chefs, make great burgers, and give every dollar to a cause that actually helps people. What Billy Kramer built from that idea over four years became one of the most unique charity events in Atlanta.
This year is the last one.
Billy was honest about why. The event grew past the point where he could run it the way he wanted to. Supply chain headaches, scheduling challenges across multiple cities, and some personal health setbacks made it clear that the right move was to end it on his terms – at the top – rather than let it slowly become something less than what it was. So he scaled down to nine chef groups, moved the event to May, and put together the best lineup the Burger Benefit has ever seen.
George Motz, the author of Hamburger America and one of the most recognized names in the burger world, is cooking a brand new burger from Johnny’s Charcoal Broiler in Oklahoma. Every ticket to his session comes with an autographed copy of his latest book, and his time slot will be available to pre-book. Vinnie Cimino, a multiple James Beard nominated chef who runs Cordelia and Rosy in Cleveland, is flying in to make his own buns from scratch and bring his own ingredients. John Benhase and Reid Henninger from Uncle June’s at Starland Yard in Savannah are coming up together. Billy first heard John on The Sporkful podcast – one of his favorite food shows – and reached out immediately. John is also the chef who taught Ralph Fiennes how to make the burger scene in the movie The Menu. That is the kind of lineup this event has always attracted.
Representing Atlanta, Chris Hall from Local Three is cooking alongside Freddy Money from Atlas at the St. Regis, Kevin Rathbun from Kevin Rathbun Steak, and Malik Rhasaan from Che Butter Jonez. Matt Hyland from Emmy Squared and Simone Tong from Si Baby-Q in Austin round out the lineup. Nick LePore, known globally as Burger Buff, is a worldwide pop-up operator who sells out everywhere he goes – Singapore, London, you name it. And Michael Mayta from USBS in Miami is coming back for one more run. He was one of the key grill guys when NFA Burger won Burger Bash in Miami and landed on CBS Mornings.
These are not burgers you can get anywhere else. That is the entire point.
“This isn’t one of those charity events where some of the proceeds go,” Billy said. “100% of the proceeds go to the Giving Kitchen.”
There are approximately 60 burgers available per chef session. Tickets are on sale now. This is the last Burger Benefit ever.
The Cause Behind the Burger
If you do not know what the Giving Kitchen does, this is worth slowing down for.
It started with a chef named Ryan Hidinger. He was a beloved figure in the Atlanta restaurant community, and when he was diagnosed with cancer, his friends and colleagues rallied around him in a way that became the foundation for something much bigger. Ryan Turner, who owns Local Three and Turner’s in Atlanta and was one of the original co-founders of the Giving Kitchen, helped turn that one act of community into a permanent safety net for an entire industry.
The Giving Kitchen provides direct financial assistance to food service workers in crisis. Not gift cards. Not referrals to other nonprofits. They pay rent. They pay car payments. They cover utility bills. They meet people where they are and move fast. To date, they have helped over 60,000 food service workers. More than 70 percent of the people they assist are prevented from experiencing homelessness. More than 71 percent are prevented from food insecurity. Their call center supports over 180 languages.
Billy put the mission in terms that are hard to forget.
“Every time you go into a restaurant, the last person who touches your food is a stranger. Wouldn’t you want that stranger to want to be there and be happy?”
For Billy, the Giving Kitchen is not just a charity he supports. It is personal. Whitney Russell worked for him at NFA Burger. She volunteered with Team Heidi every March – the Giving Kitchen’s annual fundraiser held at Truist Park that now raises over 1.4 million dollars a year – and always asked Billy for time off so she could help out. She passed away during COVID from an extremely rare disease. Her story is a core reason Billy has committed to the Giving Kitchen long after the Burger Benefit ends.
His father’s example matters too. Growing up, Billy watched his dad quietly donate to charity on a regular basis. An envelope here, a check there, no announcement, no fanfare. It shaped how Billy thinks about giving back – not as a branding exercise, but as a habit. The same instinct that led Billy to draw a parallel to the Two Ten Foundation, a shoe industry charity he admires for the same reason: it takes care of its own.
The Asheville story is the one that really lands. When Hurricane Helene hit western North Carolina, the money raised at that year’s Burger Benefit went directly to restaurant workers who had lost everything. Homes flooded. Cars underwater. Jobs gone overnight. Two weeks after the storm, checks were going out the door. That is what the Giving Kitchen can do when it has the resources and the organizational infrastructure to move fast.
What Comes Next at NFA Burger
Even after the final Burger Benefit, the giving does not stop.
Starting now, NFA Burger is permanently donating a quarter from every burger sold at both the Dunwoody Village location and the Avalon location to the Giving Kitchen. It is not a one-time pledge. It is built into how the business operates going forward.
There is also a lot coming on the NFA expansion front. The Dunwoody kitchen is getting a significant upgrade that will allow the team to do things they have not been able to do before – more capacity, better workflow, a stronger foundation for the next phase of growth. The timeline has been pushed back by a combination of an exhaust installation issue tied to US Foods and some water intrusion, but Billy is confident it will be worth the wait when it is done.
It is worth noting how far NFA Burger has come. Billy built this from a seven-person team to an operation of roughly 60 people across two locations. He gave a lot of credit to the people who have been there from the start, including Sean, who has been with NFA since day three.
“There are two kinds of lines,” Billy said. “A line of inefficiency and a line of popularity. In the beginning, we were a line of inefficiency. Now we are very efficient.”
That is what four years of showing up every single day looks like.
Forty-One Restaurants and a City That Acts Like a Unicorn
One of the best stretches of this conversation happened when Billy and I started trading notes on the Dunwoody restaurant scene.
Mark Galvin at Discover Dunwoody – a show sponsor – mentioned that 41 restaurants opened in Dunwoody last year. Forty-one. That number stopped both of us. The demand is real. The community is growing. And the pipeline keeps building, with new concepts coming to Ashford Lane, High Street, and development near Lazy Dog that Eli Zandman at ToNeTo Atlanta has been tracking closely.
Billy said something that I have not been able to stop thinking about.
“People don’t realize Dunwoody is more like a unicorn.”
He looked at expansion markets all over the country – cities with the right demographics, the density, the disposable income, the foot traffic. And after all of that research, he kept coming back to the same conclusion: Dunwoody is different in ways that are hard to put on a spreadsheet.
Part of it is the owner-operators. Dunwoody Village is a good example of what happens when the people running the restaurants are actually present. Miguel Romero is behind the counter at Taqueria Los Hermanos. Darren Benda is at Chupito’s Azteca Grille. David Abes is roaming around the Funwoody Restaurants he oversees. These are not absentee corporate concepts. They are people who know their regulars, care about the neighborhood, and show up in the way that makes a place feel like it belongs to the community.
Part of it is also the city itself. During COVID, the City of Dunwoody moved fast on outdoor seating permits and provided direct support to restaurants that was genuinely meaningful. They have maintained a no-drive-through policy that keeps the character of Dunwoody Village intact. DeKalb County has been a workable partner on things like kitchen clearances. It adds up to an environment where serious operators can build something real, which is why people like Billy keep choosing it over the alternatives.
For anyone thinking about moving to Dunwoody or already living in Dunwoody, this is one of those things that is hard to quantify but easy to feel. The restaurant ecosystem here – from NFA Burger and Village Burger to Taqueria Los Hermanos, Novo Cucina, Marlowe’s, Super Chicks, and everything opening around them – reflects a community that actually supports its local businesses. That matters more than most people realize until they have lived somewhere that does not have it.
Dunwoody is not a finished product. It is still building. That, honestly, is what makes it exciting.
Call to Action
The Final Burger Benefit presented by Georgia Natural Gas takes place on May 3rd, 2026 at NFA Burger in Dunwoody Village. Doors open at 11am. Tickets are on sale now, with approximately 60 burgers available per chef session. George Motz’s session is pre-bookable and includes an autographed copy of his book. This is the last Burger Benefit ever.
Grab tickets and see the full chef lineup here: https://givingkitchen.org/events/the-final-burger-benefit-presented-by-georgia-natural-gas/
If you want to support the Giving Kitchen directly beyond the event, you can donate or learn more at givingkitchen.org.
Show Notes
- NFA Burger owner Billy Kramer discusses the fourth and final Burger Benefit, a charity event on May 3rd at NFA Dunwoody featuring nine chef groups with 100% of proceeds benefiting the Giving Kitchen, presented by Georgia Natural Gas
- The Giving Kitchen provides direct financial assistance to food service workers in crisis, paying rent, utilities, and car payments – the organization has helped over 60,000 workers and prevents the majority of recipients from experiencing homelessness or food insecurity
- Billy Kramer shares the personal stories behind his commitment to the Giving Kitchen, including former NFA employee Whitney Russell and the organization’s rapid response to restaurant workers affected by Hurricane Helene in Asheville
- The official chef lineup includes George Motz (Hamburger America, New York), Vinnie Cimino (Cordelia, Cleveland), John Benhase and Reid Henninger (Uncle June’s, Savannah), Freddy Money (Atlas, Atlanta), Kevin Rathbun (Kevin Rathbun Steak), Malik Rhasaan (Che Butter Jonez), Matt Hyland (Emmy Squared), Simone Tong (Si Baby-Q), Nick LePore (Burger Buff), and Michael Mayta (USBS, Miami)
- Host Matt Weber and Billy Kramer discuss the Dunwoody restaurant boom – 41 new openings last year – and why Dunwoody Village continues to thrive while perimeter restaurant concepts struggle, with insights from Discover Dunwoody’s Mark Galvin
What Is What’s Up Dunwoody?
What’s Up Dunwoody is a local media platform created by REALTOR® Matt Weber, focused on living in Dunwoody, moving to Dunwoody, and staying connected to the community. It began as a podcast and has grown into social media content, local guides, and two of the largest Dunwoody-focused Facebook groups where residents share recommendations and stay in the loop. Matt has expanded slightly outside of Dunwoody and now covers the entire top end of the Perimeter through his Top End ATL channels.
Matt is a Dunwoody REALTOR® who helps people navigate buying, selling, and moving in the area. Stay in the loop with local updates, listings, and insights by signing up here: whatsupdunwoody.com/email