OUTDOOR KITCHEN: The burger hype at Jalama Beach is well-justified 

The home of the world-famous Jalama burger is no secret. The same can’t be said about its signature condiment, known as the Jalama secret sauce—a staple feature of the burger since its debut at Jalama Beach more than four decades ago.

What makes the sauce so special? Only a handful of people will ever know. There are a few select individuals with knowledge of its ingredients, said Don Eittreim, whose beloved Jalama Beach Store has served burgers to surfers, campers, and other Jalama heads since the late 1970s. 

The Jalama burger was his late wife Kathy’s creation, he said. She also came up with its prized sauce, with a recipe she allegedly regretted sharing with a notable peer in the burger business.

“Back in ’79 or ’80, Ray Kroc came out here to have a burger,” Eittreim recalled. “He asked my wife for the [sauce] recipe, because he said the burger was so good. So she gave it to him.”

Out of caution, Eittreim and his wife vowed shortly afterward to not tell anyone else the recipe other than immediate family. He has fond memories of Kroc’s visits though and described the late McDonald’s mogul as a repeat customer.

“He used to bring a lot of the franchise holders up to have a burger,” Eittreim said. “It was fun. He was a nice guy. He’d buy all kinds of stuff.”

As its name suggests, the Jalama Beach Store sells more than burgers. It’s a convenience store with a variety of camping supplies, beach toys, snacks, and other grab-and-go items available for purchase. 

While the Jalama burger—a beef patty served on a sesame seed bun with shredded lettuce, sliced red onion, tomato, pickle, and Jalama secret sauce—is the shop’s main attraction, its restaurant menu also features clam chowder, chili, fish and chips, salmon burgers, and more.

“Probably 90 percent of the sales are the burger,” said Eittreim, whose storefront offers some outdoor tables, as well as an upstairs lounge with ample seating, wide windows offering views of the shoreline, and walls filled with memorabilia celebrating the venue’s history.

Of course, many customers take their burgers and eat them picnic-style out on the beach, he added.

Long before the days of TikTok and Instagram, the Jalama burger’s fast popularity was thanks to word of mouth. It went viral at the dawn of the ’80s, in a world without clickbait, although some of its longtime patrons are big fans of tackle.

“We get a lot of fishermen,” Eittreim said. “Rock hounds come. We get rock and gem clubs, … a lot of different people for different reasons.”

Before websites like Yelp existed, one of Eittreim’s favorite ways of receiving customer feedback was through postcards.

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• PHOTO BY CALEB WISEBLOOD

“In 1981, a little boy from Sweden came in to have a burger, celebrating his 10th birthday,” Eittreim said. “When he got back to Sweden, he sent a postcard, saying it was the best burger he ate while he was in the U.S. of A.”

Eittreim still has the card, along with others full of similar sentiments he’s saved over the years.

“People come from all over to have the burger,” he said. 

To describe Jalama Beach as secluded would be inaccurate, because it draws so many people to its shores, but the rural route to get there has a way of making its travelers feel like they’ve stumbled upon a hidden oasis.

After taking the Jalama Road exit from Highway 1 near Lompoc, you drive 15 miles—30 minutes of winding road—on what appears to be landlocked hillside terrain. The coast pops up out of nowhere, like a mirage, once you’re at the end of the road.

For first-time visitors, here’s a pro tip: Tell the attendant at the Jalama Beach County Park’s front gate you came for the burger. You’ll get a free pass to stay at the park for an hour, as long as you get your parking pass validated at the Jalama Beach Store.

If you don’t catch Eittreim at the register, around the kitchen, or conversing with the store’s regulars or new faces, chances are you’ll see his daughter and business partner, Linda George, running the shop.

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• PHOTO BY CALEB WISEBLOOD

“It’s fun to see all the people who just come in to see him [Eittreim],” said George, who was a senior in high school when her parents created the Jalama burger.

Among the changes Eittreim, 89, has noticed with each passing season at Jalama Beach, he’s observed a gradual uptick in campers during winter months, which he used to consider unusual.

“With today’s world, with so many people retiring young and with RVs, there’s people here all year round,” said Eittreim, who used to mainly rely on June, July, and August for a steady flow of business. “With an RV, the elements don’t really bother you.

“But we still have a lot of the die-hard tent campers, regardless of the weather,” he added. “It can be miserable out there, pouring down rain, but they still love to do it.”