When the KFC in Plaza Center first opened, I was pretty excited. Who doesn't love greasy fried chicken? Honestly, a Boston Market would have been better for a bit more of a selection, but KFC was still good. So over the next few years, I visited this KFC every few weeks. The food was good, the usual KFC fare, but the service was a bit lacking. It wasn't that the employees necessarily did anything wrong. They just weren't very into their jobs, and it showed. For example, they once forgot part of my order. On other occasions, they simply seemed like they were in no hurry to complete my order.
Perhaps due to this mediocre service, this KFC has never been very crowded whenever I went. For the majority of my visits, there were no other customers there. (This would usually be around 6 PM.) Or at most, there would only be one or two customers in line. So when this KFC closed down, I was disappointed but not surprised.
For the next few months, I speculated what would be coming next. Once again, I was hoping for a Boston Market. Then, I heard the news that it would be a Wayback Burgers. I never heard of this franchise, but its website looked interesting. So from that point on, I kept an eye on that corner unit in Secaucus Plaza as I patiently waited for Wayback Burgers to arrive.
Then finally, on the first Sunday in 2019 I believe, it opened. Coincidentally, I was in Secaucus Plaza running an errand. So of course, I stopped in. I actually believe that I was their very first customer. That's because when I walked in around 10:15 AM, I saw no other customers. Plus, one of the first things I was told as soon as I walked in was that they can't accept cash yet. Evidently, one of the employees was on way to the bank to get cash for change.
Since I had never been to a Wayback Burgers before, I took a minute to study their menu. While I did so, the staff seemed very welcoming and was open to my questions. The menu was very similar to other burger places like McDonald's or Wendy's in terms of selection. So I wasn't overly impressed, especially since the prices seemed slightly higher than the competition. Regardless, I ordered two of the burgers that were pictured on their menu and hoped for the best.
After ordering, one of the first things I noticed was that they make your burger fresh right there. That was a good sign. Their cooking area was very visible right behind the cashier, so I took advantage of the view. Everything seemed clean and orderly. But of course, given that I was their first customer, that's to be expected.
Since the burgers were made fresh, I had a few minutes to look around. The layout was pretty nice. It was definitely an improvement over how KFC allocated the space. Basically, Wayback reduced the size of the cooking area greatly and used that real estate to create a much bigger dining area. This was a smart move, because I always felt uncomfortable sitting at one of the few tiny tables when this was a KFC. The decor was nice as well. Nothing mind blowing, but neat, clean, and comfortable.
After about 15 minutes, my order was ready. I had gotten the Cheeeesy and the Rodeo burgers. The burgers were decently sized. Not the shrunken burgers you would get at McDonald's, but unfortunately not the monster burgers you would get at more traditional sit-down restaurants either. Still, I wasn't disappointed. The question now was the taste. And I must say, I was happy with the results. This is just a guess, but I think what made it good was how the bun was cooked along with the meat. So overall, I was happy with my order.
Since this first visit, I have been back to Wayback Burgers multiple times, probably about once a week. So far, the location is still neat and clean. For the most part, I have gone through their entire menu of sandwiches, although I have yet to try their sides or drinks (they feature a variety of milkshakes in addition to the usual drink selections). Through all these visits, I have yet to be disappointed. So I definitely see myself continuing to frequent this establishment. If you haven't tried this recent addition to Secaucus yourself yet, I definitely recommend you give it a go.
