Paper Plate is bringing Long Island back to the simpler times: burgers, fries, shakes and a side order of community.
“At the end of the day you can go to Shake Shack or Five Guys but all of them have become very commercial and not as family friendly,” Long Island resident and Paper Plate founder, Aaron Ratner explained. “It hits home opening a restaurant in Long Island, being able for your friends to drive up really quick.”
On Tuesdays, Paper Plate participates in ‘Tuesday nights give back,’ dedicated to community organizations. Twenty percent of the night’s proceeds are donated directly back to organizations like the local fire department, schools and little leagues.
“We’re really trying to dive into the community as a local operator and Long Island local,” Ratner said.
The down-home ethos applies to the food as well. Paper Plate focuses on a simple menu in order to provide a consistent product every time. From juicy Smashburgers, to savory french fries, to crunchy chicken tenders, to creamy milkshakes. After their grand opening, they added grilled cheese sandwiches to the menu.
Every two months they introduce a month-long, limited-time special with a local influencer creating customized menu items.
February’s collaboration meal was with NYC photographer and content creator @imma_eat_this customizing a classic Oklahoma style smash burger, jerk fries with a side of spicy jerk mayo and a creamsicle shake.
Originally a vendor at Smorgasburg in Brooklyn, Paper Plate began by hauling the equivalent of a full kitchen in the back of a pickup truck to serve thousands of people every day. Ratner was able to learn from the experience and work out the kinks before moving on to store fronts.
“Since we’ve opened up Paper Plate at Smorgasburg our goal has always been to expand as quickly as we can,” Ratner said.
They opened a location in Long Island City last June and was presented with an opportunity to open a third location in Deer Park at the end of December, located across the street from the Tanger Outlets.
They’re already eyeing more locations on Long Island, and possibly more in the New York City Metropolitan Area.
No matter how far they may go, Paper Plate is sure to bring a little bit of home with them, serving up burgers, fries and shakes the right way.
