Next week, Cameron Gallagher and Sharla Karol will open the doors on a dream that’s been years in the making.

Gallagher and Karol are the mouth-watering masters behind food van Burger Junkie, and are excited to finally open a bricks-and-mortar eatery in Launceston.

They took their red-and-black emblazoned van to the city streets about four years ago, and have been growing a strong following since with their American-influenced burgers delivered with fresh, Tassie produce.

Gallagher said as much as they had enjoyed the food van community, the goal had always been to present Burger Junkie as a restaurant.

The plan was to open on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, where Karol is originally from. But fate had other plans.

“We ended up coming back to Launceston [to study],” Gallagher, executive chef, said.

“We started out at the Evandale Market with a marquee and a Weber barbecue, trying to pay our bills as struggling uni students.”

“We started with soup and moved to burgers – every week we were getting a bigger and bigger line,” Karol, director, added.

The stall became a truck, and alongside Tacos de Pancho, Burger Junkie helped to pioneer the Eat Street food truck community.

“It’s been really, really great for us and others to see the High Street and Eat Street concept expand,” Gallagher said.

It has taken the engaged couple, who will be married later this year, about two years to find a permanent home that fits into their concept.

They’ve found and settled on the former LivEat site on St John Street.

It has been transformed through long days and custom-made bar stools to reflect the dream the couple has held onto for so long.

“It’s modelled off the burger places and bars that we love in Sharla’s home city of Saskatoon [Canada],” Gallagher said, adding that the decor also drew inspiration from the classic bars of New York City.

Walls have been stripped back to reveal exposed brick walls.

Old beams from the Boag’s Brewery have had their 100-year-plus lifespans reinvigorated, transformed into the eatery’s bar and shelves.

And as for the food, burgers will still be the focus of the menu, but the added space and flexibility of a full-sized kitchen will allow the Burger Junkie team to exercise more creativity.

“We’re going to have some fun with our bar snacks, we’ve got some great chefs that have come on board with us and we’ve going to have some fun and unique [menu items],” Gallagher said.

They’ve also ordered a soft-serve ice cream machine and will be dishing up a range of Tasmanian draught beers, plus American and Canadian bottled beers.

Burger Junkie will open its new premises to the public on Tuesday, from 11am.