Dollar diner

Brotherly grub: Local chefs Jonathan and Matthew Burgess appeared on the Home Shopping Network on April 19 in a widely watched (if slightly cheesy) live segment showing off their barbecue sauce and cornbread mix.

But marketing those products has taken them away from running their restaurant, Burgess Brothers’ Burgers (2114 Sutterville Road). So they’re going to sell the business for $1 after selecting from applications that can be submitted from April 23 to May 1.

They’re hoping to find a family-oriented owner with restaurant experience, but without the means to open a place on their own. As the brothers strive to put a franchise in every state capital, Jonathan said they may continue with this style of selection.

“We’re a blessed family,” he said. “And we want to give back.”

Before they became pseudo-celebrity chefs, they were just two brothers trying to make better barbecue and more consistent cornbread.

In 2014, they grew tired of sprucing up a premade sauce. So working from scratch, Matthew substituted tomato paste for ketchup and within 45 minutes had finished the first draft of their signature recipe that contains no gluten, preservatives or high-fructose corn syrup.

“People look for those ingredients now when they check out a label,” Jonathan said, adding that even barbecue hasn’t been immune to modern dietary demands.

Later, they started prepacking their own cornbread mix. And since most store-bought packets taste like sawdust, they decided to start selling their own blend: It doesn’t require eggs and gets cooked on a waffle iron in three minutes until golden brown on the outside and tender in the middle.

They even trademarked the term “Churwaffle” to describe a cornbread waffle spiced with cinnamon and sugar. On air, they dolled it up with caramel, pecans and whipped cream. Jonathan said they’re in talks with Disneyland after ensuring their novel dessert will be at the next California State Fair.

“It’s going to make the funnel cake look like it didn’t exist,” he said.

Produce oasis: The Avenues community of south Sacramento has been described as a food desert—a neighborhood that lacks easy access to fresh produce. At least in one section, the drought has ended with the recent opening of Prime Time Nutrition (3821 41st Avenue), a Southern California chain that exclusively sells fresh, healthful foods and will accept payment from federal assistance programs.