SHREWSBURY - Chris Gooch had an idea of what he wanted out of Hearthly Burger in Shrewsbury, a fast food place with healthy ingredients, but he needed someone who knew how to steer him in the right direction.

“The way that Cache Coelho, my other half, came to be involved in this business, was by a chance meeting within my family,” Gooch said. “I need someone to help me open it up and get it going. Cache was the district manager of a few juice bars in California and his sister is good friends with my mom.

“After Cache had a falling out with that business, word got back to him from my mom and his sister, and he was instantly interested in a new start,” Gooch said. “He loved the concept and literally moved across country to be involved with me and my new business. We have been a great pair for this business ever since.”

Gooch got his start in the retail world as a 14-year-old in Revolution Board Room, a Red Bank surf shop.

“It was a hip little skater-surf shop and it was very cool,” Gooch said. “I was out wave surfing one day and I saw these guys with their own boat. I thought it was a really nice boat, so I talked to them for a bit and they let me wave surf behind that boat. Afterwards, we hit it off and they offered me a job at their surf shop.

“It was really great working for them and it taught me some responsibility at the time, which really carried on afterwards into what I do now,” Gooch said. “We became pretty close for a while, as I ended up working for them for three or four years all through high school. I also developed a sense of accountability at that age and that’s hard for most kids nowadays because they don’t have that peace of mind to work hard and have a work ethic.”

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To Hawaii and back

After finishing high school, Gooch went off to attend Hawaii Pacific University and studied business.

“I loved it and it was great,” Gooch said. “I learned a lot, especially from my teachers, who I developed strong bonds with at the time. It was an international school and people would come there from all walks of life. I made friends with people from all different countries, some of whom I still keep in touch with to this day.

“Around this time, I really started to get into cooking,” Gooch said. “I fell in love with Hawaiian food and the culture out there. They do big family parties on the beach and I would be in the thick of it. I really dove into it and started to help out friends at first who had parents that were chefs. I lived there for five years until I graduated with my bachelor’s degree in business and I was very proud of myself that I saw it all the way through and actually achieved something at the time.”

Although Gooch enjoyed his time in Hawaii, he missed the changing of the seasons, which is what brought him back to New Jersey.

“I never thought I would miss the winter,” Gooch said. “It’s always seventy-five degrees and sunny in Hawaii and, to be honest, I started missing the cold weather, as well as the in-between seasons like fall and spring. Also, most of my family was back here and that played a heavy role in my overall decision to return to the East Coast.

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“After coming back to New Jersey, I got a job on Wall Street as a bond broker for three years,” Gooch said. “The job was very cool, but the lifestyle was just something that I couldn’t get used to. There was a lot of late-night partying and drinking, which didn’t suit me, so after a while, I parted with the job there and went my separate ways. You’re expected to go out late and show up early, but that it wasn’t for me.”

Gooch said his fascination with cooking started with his mother when he was a boy.

“My mom showed me the basics of how to cook as a kid,” Gooch said. “I started from a very young age. It was more than just cooking between us. It was a bonding experience. My mom and I were always super close and I would more often than not help her cook dinner most nights. I have a feeling that is part of the inspiration for me opening up this business and always challenging myself as a cook.

“We cooked normal family stuff at the time,” Gooch said. “Some of the stuff we made included pork chops, shrimp, mash potatoes, pasta and chicken. I loved it and I was so grateful every time she asked me to help. It was typical mom food, but I was always extra special to me. That was my start and it would give me the motivation to move on to more challenging cuisine.”

Entering the food business

After quitting his job on Wall Street, Gooch decided to go to culinary school at the International Culinary Center in New York City.

“It’s a very reputable school,” Gooch said. “The main reason I got into the school has to do with my wife working there at the time. We were just dating at the time, but she encouraged me to apply and, when I did, I got in and starting taking classes. I knew that going there would open doors for me.

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“It was a nine-month program,” Gooch said. “I graduated there and that was a big help for me to get into the business. Afterwards, I went and started working for my favorite chef in New York City. I kind of just showed up and asked him for a job. He owned a handful of restaurants Manhattan and he was someone I really looked up to at the time. I knew that if I wanted to cook, I would cook for this guy. I worked there for about a year and I learned a lot about time management in the kitchen and how they really work. It’s very hands-on compared to learning in a classroom.”

Big things were happening in Gooch's life. He wanted to get married and start a family. That meant rethinking what he was doing for work.

“I was working until 1 in the morning and it was taking a toll on me,” Gooch said. “It was definitely a lot harder than I thought it would be in the beginning. At one point, I wished that I had kept my job on Wall Street.

“It was at this time that I also came up with the idea for organic fast food,” Gooch said. “I wanted to included quality ingredients and better cooking. I was always a big fan of Shake Shack and, every time I ate it, my stomach would hurt and I wouldn’t feel very good. I realized it was all about the ingredients that they were using and I figured if I could replicate the taste, but use organic products, I would have a great idea.”

And so, Hearthly Burger was born in 2019.

“Nowadays, there is a lot of organic culture and everyone is very concerned where their food is coming from. I sparked this idea inside my head and I got to work on a business plan. Soon enough, I found some investors and I opened my place. I put all of my own money into it and we got off to a good start.

“We opened in 2019, but we hit a wall that was COVID-19,” Gooch said. “It was hard for us as a new business because we had developed a pretty big customer base. We were worried about people just forgetting about us when corona struck. It was hard, but we opened back up eventually and business started to pick up and get moving. After another year, we got really busy. This last year has been incredible for us and we are really proud of what we have accomplished.”

Hearthly Burger is primarily a burger joint with a twist of organic ingredients, but they do switch up the menu frequently.

“We do all different types of burgers and selections of fried chicken,” Gooch said. “We do a lot of organic milkshakes, as well as vegan versions of burgers and fried chicken. There really is something for everyone here and you will enjoy the food to the fullest extent.”

Gooch wants to expand and make sure his customers can rely on his abilities to make good food that can be consumed quickly.

“I want to open a beach location in either Asbury or Sea Bright,” Gooch said. “We haven’t committed to anything yet, but we definitely want to have more of them.”

Hearthly Burger

Owners: Chris Gooch and Cache Coelho

Location: 520 Broad St., Shrewsbury

Phone: 732-704-3447

Website: www.hearthlyburger.com

Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Hearthly Burger in Shrewsbury NJ provides organic fast food