Not just a burger joint: check out this award-winning arcade, bar and deli
One of Bellingham’s newest restaurants is gaining popularity after growing from a food truck to a brick-and-mortar restaurant. It’s now being recognized as an award-winning restaurant, deli and bar.
If you’ve been looking for mouthwatering burgers, fresh deli meats and cocktails that don’t break the bank, Doug’s Burgers is the place for you.
The restaurant took home four Cascade’s Best Awards last year, winning Gold for Best Lunch Spot, Gold for Best Take Out, Silver for Best Cheap Eats and Bronze for Best Burger.
The restaurant first started back in 2015 in Houston, where owner Matt King started doing pop ups. After moving to Bellingham, King saw a need for a late-night budget friendly spot and opened his food truck in 2023.
“I worked on a few friends’ trucks in Houston, and had a pop up tent for awhile. I was going to have my first truck there but wanted to give Bellingham a late-night option after visiting family. I named it after my dog, if everyone visited as hungry as him I would definitely sell out immediately,” Doug’s Burgers’ owner and cook Matt King wrote in an email to The Bellingham Herald in 2023.
Since day one, King said he has focused on serving food that is carefully sourced.
“We will always be thoughtful in sourcing our beef. Which I find important to not use feedlot cattle. Of course we can’t get everything from the farmers market with burgers under $10, but we will always show care to the things that matter,” King told The Herald back in 2023.
“We bake all of our own bread in house, and always use fresh beef. While deli meats are tricky to make in house, we DO make all of the hot sandwich meat in house. Meatballs, house smoked pastrami for the Reuben, and the roast beef for the dip we do ourselves,” King told The Herald.
Now, Doug’s Burgers operates as a brick-and-mortar restaurant with an arcade, full bar and deli.
“It’s understandable we do not hit the mark 100% of the time, but seeing new and regular customers come in and enjoy the food and space means a lot. It’s cool to have a quiet bar atmosphere in the back of Doug’s, but also great when we get big groups of families in the deli hanging out playing the arcade games having a beer and some hot dogs,” King said.
When visiting Doug’s, guests are encouraged to view the space like a food court, grabbing food from Doug’s Burgers or Frankie’s Deli counter, or even grabbing a drink from the bar and enjoying it in any dining room throughout the building.
Doug’s Burgers’ menu features crispy chicken sandwiches, spicy burgers, BLT sandwiches, veggie burgers, queso fries, chicken tenders, housemade potato chips, chicken wings, and “Doug-itos,” housemade taquitos made with ground beef, cream cheese, onions and double queso sauce.
Frankie’s Deli, located inside the same building, serves hot dogs, Reuben sandwiches, meatball subs, French dip, macaroni and potato salads, cookies, apple and raspberry turnovers and ‘Frito Pie,’ which is Fritos chips topped with housemade chili, queso and green onions.
Doug’s Burgers is open daily from noon to 9 p.m. at 2527 Meridian St. The attached Frankie’s Deli is open from noon to 7 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday at the same location.
This story was originally published March 21, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
