Above is a delicious Sespe Burger

Pictured above is the Sespe Burger sign.

Above is former Fillmore resident Jeff Porter and his wife, Christina, who have opened two classic California burger stands known as Sespe Burger in northeastern Ohio.

Courtesy Jeff Hansen

With its widespread popularity, you can find a hamburger just about anywhere but if you want a Sespe Burger you have to head to northeastern Ohio. The Youngstown area towns of Boardman and Columbiana to be exact, where former Fillmore resident Jeff Porter and his wife, Christina, have opened two classic California burger stands.

Jeff graduated from Fillmore High School in 2003 and went to Moorpark College before earning a marketing degree from Cal Poly Pomona. He got his first taste of the restaurant business while still at Pomona, starting as a busboy at Ruby Tuesdays in West Covina and worked his way up to server. “Sometimes I wasn’t real happy with the food coming out of the kitchen,” Porter recalled, “and one day the manager threw me a chef’s apron and said if I could do better, go ahead. I didn’t know at the time it was the start of my food career. “
During the height of the food truck craze, Jeff did all the prep work and truck maintenance for a mobile fried chicken operation and that’s where he met Christina. She is a Boardman native and moved to Southern California after graduating from culinary school in Pittsburgh. “She’s the real chef in the family,” Jeff added, “but we both spend time in the kitchen, we’re not desk people.” After having two kids, June, 8, and Isacc, 5, Christina wanted to raise her family in her hometown. “So I just packed them up and we headed for Ohio in 2015,” she said. The couple built up a following for their juicy California style burgers with a mobile grill they set up at the Birdfish Brewery in Columbiana and started looking for a location for their first Sespe Burger, opening the Boardman burger joint in 2019. “The place we took over came with a drive thru window that didn’t mean much to us until Covid hit,” Jeff said. “That and mobile ordering kept us alive during the pandemic. One of our customers was a developer who loved our food and wanted us to open another in Columbiana at a property he was developing.” The second Sespe Burger is located in a shopping center called Firestone Farms, a nod to Harvey Firestone, born in Columbiana and founder of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company.

‘What’s a Sespe?’ With Ohio a long way from SoCal, customers often ask about the name. A counter sign explains the pronunciation and Jeff tells folks ‘it’s ‘an area not a town’ While customers may not know the Sespe geography, they know a great burger when they eat one. A devoted customer base gives Sespe Burger rave reviews that sizzle just like the burgers being smashed on the grill. ‘hooked on the first bite’…’our official favorite burger joint’…’the best burger I’ve ever had.’ In a posted video, sprinkled with some salty language, one Sespe Burger fan claims he drove four hours to get his favorite burger. “We keep it simple,” Jeff said. “We just use the best ingredients available and offer classic California burgers.” Sespe’s menu also includes delicious pastrami and plant based sandwiches and nuggets and interesting takes on fresh cut ‘loaded fries’ with chili cheese, pastrami and avocado and egg. Although not open until 11 a.m., Sespe’s breakfast burritos are also a hit with several meat choices. “When we opened the Boardman location our daughter said she wanted to open a lemonade stand out front,” Christina said, “so we came up with June’s Lemonade and some of the proceeds go to local charities that she gets to pick”

The Porters’ move to Ohio also enabled a lifestyle hard to achieve in the food business. “The cost of living is better here,” Jeff said. “Restaurants require a big time commitment to be successful. If we were in California, we would have to be open additional hours and charge more. Here, we can keep our menu prices affordable and have time for other things besides work.” With young kids at home, the hours fit the Porters’ lifestyle. Sespe Burger closes at 7 p.m. and the doors are locked on Sunday. Jeff remains loyal to his roots and can always be found wearing his Dodgers hat in an area populated with Cleveland Guardian and Pittsburgh Pirate fans. “I’m a big Dodgers fan, the only drawback is the west coast games don’t come on until 10 p.m. here.”

At 38 and with ‘a few grey hairs,’ Jeff said he and Christina are happy with their current locations and lifestyle although people have approached him about possible franchising. His sister Megan Hernandez and several cousins still live in Fillmore. “I go home every year and I’d love to open a Sespe Burger in Fillmore but we’ll see.” He’s inquired about the vacant Margaret’s Cocina on Ventura Street and even has a picture of Margaret’s on the Sespe Burger wall as well as colorful logos of local citrus growers to remind him of his hometown.

If you’re planning a summer road trip and find yourself in Ohio, stop by Sespe Burger. You’ll find a little bit of Fillmore and maybe just the best burger ever!