Lakeland’s new burger shop Grievous Angel

A much-anticipated Downtown Lakeland burger shop that hopes to reinvigorate a property with a troubled past has opened its doors.

Grievous Angel, a burger joint created by LoveBird Almost Famous Chicken owners Jeremy and Leah Brumley, will launch a soft opening 4 p.m. Monday at 801 E. Main St. The soft opening will feature a limited menu.

“I had the idea for years to do a kind of honky tonk bar called Grievous Angel. More of a fantasy than an actual business plan for it,” said Jeremy Brumley. “I’ve aged out of wanting a bar.”

The burger joint’s name is a nod to one of Polk County’s most influential musicians, Gram Parsons. The name references “Return of the Grievous Angel,” a song recorded for Parsons’ final album.

Parsons, a Winter Haven native, was among the earliest musicians to blend country and rock music. The “Grievous Angel” album was recorded in the summer of 1973, but he died in September at age 26. The album was released four months after his death in January 1974.

The eatery’s menu will feature a wide variety of takes on smashburgers from across the country, Snap-A-Razzo hotdogs, fries and soft-serve ice cream, according to Brumley, served in a building renovated to pay tribute to its former life as a gas station.

On Grievous Angel: Downtown Lakeland burger shop coming soon with nod to one of Polk’s musicians

“It’s a great site,” he said. “If I were to go to another community anywhere else, a former gas station, on the corner in the heart of downtown. Geographically, it’s a great site.”

Since the site was last home to Unfiltered in December 2023, Brumley has torn down the fencing around the edges and opened it up to a gently sloping lawn. The old gas station awning now serves as an overhang with large, wide outdoor tables for customers to sit down and eat in shade, protected from Florida’s sun.