And soon after the 10th birthday of the Queenstown institution last week, the bustling burger bar's acquisition of the lease next door "keeps options open" for Fergburger's future, the general manager says.
Barry Smith, general manager for three years and employee of almost eight years, puts the business' success down to the motto "Ferg loves you".
"We love our customers, we want them to feel that, that's why we put so much effort into everything we do. All our ingredients, everything we buy, we buy fresh.
"We don't cut corners by buying frozen beef patties; we do everything ourselves.
"So much effort and love goes into everything we do and that reflects in the quality of the burger."
Anthony Smith is the owner-director of Fergburger. He was the driving force in starting the business 10 years ago with two Warehouse barbecues and a deep-fryer in a tiny 3m by 3m outlet in Cow Lane.
"Ant started it because back in 2001, there weren't many places to get a decent meal in the early hours of the morning," Barry Smith, no relation, said.
"Ant came up with the burger concept and that's where it's sprung from. Obviously, over time, it's grown and grown.
"It was pretty quiet when it first started and word started to spread through the locals and through the ski community through the winters. It all grew from there and as it slowly got busier, the need to open earlier just sort of grew."
Asked where the name Fergburger came from, Barry Smith said Anthony Smith liked to keep customers guessing who Ferg really was.
"We may never know," Barry Smith said.
Notable names who have chomped on a Fergburger over the years include All Black Dan Carter, Star Wars film-maker George Lucas, New York Yankee Curtis Granderson, The Bachelor television star Jason Mesnick, Black Cap cricket players and virtually every Super rugby team that has visited Queenstown.
The two Mr Smiths, duty managers James Burtinshaw and Koh Sutiyama and assistant manager Steve Myler have worked at Fergburger for the longest.
Between 300 and 400 people are estimated to have been employed during the past decade.
The "class of 2011" were all laughs as staff members sat and stood in rows for a school-style photograph outside the premises on the anniversary day last Thursday.
The menu and recipes remain virtually the same as in the early days, with the mouth-watering additions of Double Ferg with cheese, Mr Big Stuff, Bun Laden and breakfast burgers.
Chief Wiggum, a slow-roasted pork belly meal, and the Bull's Eye, a New Zealand rib-eye steak meal, were introduced last year.
The move to Fergburger's premises in Shotover St, in 2005, was due to neighbouring business operators developing their sites, Barry Smith said.
"I think we're very lucky, purely because of the position. It's the main thoroughfare through Queenstown so it's good for any businesses in Shotover St."
The lease next door kept the company's options open, Barry Smith said.
"We should definitely know in the next month or so. We take over the lease [this week] and then Ant will get in there and see where we go with that."
Fergburger received "hundreds and hundreds" of inquiries about launching a franchise, "but it would take somebody special who cares for the business like myself and the staff here do".
