We’ve been fans of Kuma’s Corner, the tiny Chicago burger joint run by and for metalheads, since we heard about it. Then we got to eat there, and our respect for the place just went up. It’s about time the rest of the world got to hear about it. Unfortunately, they did, but only after unamused Catholics got up in arms about their “Ghost Burger,” named after Ghost (or Ghost B.C., if you want to get technical). The burger, which contains goat shoulder, ghost chili aioli, and a red wine reduction, is topped with an unconsecrated communion wafer.  Now the restaurant has released a statement via their website, and are making a donation to the Catholic Charities of the Chicago Archdiocese:

Kuma’s Corner is aware that in some cases, people have unfortunately found reason to find offense at our recent special menu addition the Ghost. We make hamburgers for a living. We are a small nine table restaurant in the Avondale neighborhood of Chicago. And we love heavy metal. There is a band doing music that we enjoy particularly called Ghost. They are from Sweden. As with all of our burgers, the Ghost was created to pay homage to the music they’ve created. We work very hard on coming up with creative combinations for our food just as a band would work very hard to be creative with their music and we think it shows in their regard so we found it appropriate that with them being on tour this month, and this month being October, we honor them in this way.
That said, we appreciate the kind words of support from the vast majority of people who understand that we, in no way, created this as a commentary on religion or as an attack on anyones personal beliefs. In the past we have done a number of burgers dealing with this same exact topic to very little fanfare. Never in the spirit of offending anyone, and always in mindset of praising a band for the work that they do.

However, in the haze of the past few days, we would like to express the following. We support the rights of every person in the United States as given to them by the Constitution, to do and say what they feel. We are fortunate to live in a place where we are granted particular freedoms not available to most people in most locales and we feel it is our obligation to not stand down in the face of threats but instead to stand up for something we hold to be much nobler; the First Amendment. If you are not familiar with it, let us provide the text for you:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

So, to be clear, the Ghost burger will be available at Kuma’s Corner throughout the month of October. In addition, Ghost will be on tour in the United States all month and we encourage you to familiarize yourself with this amazing band by supporting them at one of their shows across the country.

In standing with our policy of supporting charity and Chicago at large, we have made a $1500 dollar donation to the Catholic Charities of the Chicago Archdiocese as we understand that they share our mentality of serving anyone in need from any walk of life.

Michael Cain
Luke Tobias
Kuma’s Corner
Chicago, IL