BY AMANDA LARCH HINCHMAN
Business is more than a family affair for father and son Jason and Lukas Beter. It’s a collaboration.
With some background in the industry, at one time owning a small restaurant part of a local franchise, Jason had an idea for his own restaurant in 2016. Having to travel for his day job, he regularly found himself checking out locally-owned burger joints and craft beer pubs.
“They kind of got my wheels turning,” he says. “Like maybe I can leave what I’m doing and pivot and do a whole new thing.”
Jason’s oldest son Lukas, who at the time was a sophomore at Marshall University, had shown an interest in running restaurants, and Jason recruited his help in crafting the menu for what became Oscar’s Breakfast, Burgers & Brews.
“Lucas helped me start Oscar’s,” Jason says. “He is basically the vice president of everything now, handling all the operations, but he’s still our head chef as well, so though he’s not actively in the kitchen as much anymore, he’s always creating new items and trying to keep us fresh.”
Completely self-taught, Lukas accepted the challenge and worked studiously on the menu.
“I came up with several ideas,” Lukas says. “I lived in a little apartment in East Pea Ridge. I was only 20, and I remember going to Kroger and bought a couple hundred dollars’ worth of ingredients to make sauces and all these things we had ideas for doing. That’s how it began.”
From the start, it’s been a main focus at Oscar’s to use fresh quality ingredients and make as much in-house as possible, like seasonings and sauces, including barbecue, buffalo, honey mustard, maple sriracha, Carolina reaper and more. Two big flavor inspirations for Lukas are savory and hot, and he loves to incorporate these in the restaurant.
Another key aspect is hand-cutting all their fries, which amounts to about 1,500 pounds of regular potatoes and 1,200 of sweet potatoes each week. Sweet potato fries pair perfectly with Lukas’s homemade sweet and hot sauce.
“Those who normally don’t like sweet potato fries love it with this,” Jason says. “Cutting sweet potatoes is no easy chore, and we hand cut all those.”
All burgers, made from a special proprietary blend, are hand pattied from fresh beef.
“I always like to tell people that because I know there’s a lot of places where they get pre-made, pre-prep product,” Lukas says. “I like for our customers to know we go the extra mile to make sure we’re providing not just a great experience, but a great product for you to enjoy.”
At Oscar’s Breakfast, Burgers & Brews, it’s all in the name. Each burger is loaded with unique toppings, and burgers range from the Oscar, a traditional American-style burger, to the Clutch, Mastodon or Astro—there’s something for every flavor palette, and with clever names, they’re simply just fun to order, too.
“I always tell people if you’re not real adventurous, get the Oscar burger and go from there,” Jason says. “It’s my go-to. Everybody loves our burgers, everybody has their own favorite, and our breakfast has really picked up a following as well.”
For some, breakfast is still a hidden gem at Oscar’s, Jason says. Served all day long, there are omelets, breakfast sandwiches, churro fries, and breakfast burritos, which have been a smash hit. “I don’t think those get enough credit,” Jason says.
Each weekend comes a new, featured, off-the-menu burger of Lukas’ creation, including holiday specialty burgers. They’re also what Lukas enjoys creating and cooking the most. One such creation is the Hearts on Fire burger, with fresh angus chuck, whipped cream cheese spread, fried onions, sliced pork belly and house made maple habanero sauce, blending and finding the sweet spot of Lukas’s signature flavors.
“I like to see how it sells, what customers think of it, and if that’s something that I could run in the future, like on the regular menu itself,” Lukas says. “I like to see what draws people in, and it gives people a chance to try something new.”
Another way customers can try something new are the different weekend brunch specials at Oscar’s, featuring different french toast and pancake flavors and more.
With more than 30 independently owned craft beers on tap, Oscar’s highlights West Virginia brews, including some from the Beter family’s Koerber Beer Company.
“We carry the big boys in the bottles, but I feel like giving an Anheuser Busch or a Miller Coors a tap doesn’t really move the needle for them,” Jason says. “But giving a Weather Ground, a High Ground or a Peddler means the world to them to have a tap on somewhere. So that’s why we dedicate all 30 of our taps to independent craft breweries.”
In addition to Oscar’s, the Beter family opened 1861 Public House a couple years ago. Similar to Oscar’s with a streamlined menu and a focus on craft beer, 1861’s culinary specialty is pizzas, with a new featured pizza each week. Once again, Jason recruited the help of his son for formulating this menu.
“The 1861 menu came pretty quick,” Lukas says. “It’s more of a bar atmosphere. So we were limited on what we could really offer, but at the same time, we still wanted to offer the freshest ingredients possible and use quality meats and cheese on our pizzas.”
You can find all the classics here, like pepperoni, supreme, meat lovers and buffalo chicken, but also with specialty pizzas, such as buffalo mac and cheese, crab rangoon and more. Keep an eye out on social media for both establishments for the latest featured specialties.
The Beters’ Koerber Beer Company, which provides brews not only for Oscar’s but for restaurants throughout the state, will also soon be offering food in the form of a permanent food bus.
In the past, the family owned and operated The Corner Hoagies and Hops. While that establishment ultimately did not make it, remnants of its menu are being transformed for the beer company’s food bus, with Lukas once more at the helm.
This time, the main offerings will be sandwiches: Philly cheesesteaks, Cubans, Reubens and more.
“We had those recipes and that menu in the back of our mind, and so now it’s the opportunity to bring that back to life again and people are really excited for it,” Lukas says. “We had a great product.”
Lukas’s younger brother, Noah, is also a central part of the Beters’ growing Barboursville-based food empire. He used to manage Oscar’s, and now he’s the head brewer for Koerber Beer Company.
“He does all of our brewing for Koerber; he actually traveled the state, went to different breweries, was trained and guided in that direction,” Lukas says.
Being in business with his family is Lukas’s favorite aspect of his work.
“I get to see them every day,” he says. “I know a lot of people don’t see their family every day. It is hard at times. You butt heads with your family, but I think we have a good enough established relationship that we don’t hurt each other’s feelings.”
