Founder & Visionary
Cebrail Karabelli is the culinary architect, original grillmaster, and visionary founder behind the Burgermeister empire. The story of the brand is inextricably tied to his personal dedication to the craft. In 2006, driven by a passion for authentic, uncompromising street food, Cebrail took what many considered a massive risk: he opened a burger stand in a historic, converted 19th-century public restroom situated directly beneath the U-Bahn tracks at Schlesisches Tor in Berlin-Kreuzberg. He believed that if the food was exceptional, people wouldn’t care about the unconventional location – in fact, they would embrace it.
He was absolutely right. Insisting on baking his own buns and grinding his own meat from day one, Cebrail turned Burgermeister into a localized phenomenon. It quickly became an insider tip, then a staple of Berlin nightlife, and eventually a cultural icon drawing massive lines of locals and tourists alike.
Today, while the company has grown into an international powerhouse with a massive production facility, Cebrail remains the ultimate guardian of the brand’s soul. He is deeply involved in product development and quality control, ensuring that despite the rapid expansion, Burgermeister’s core promise – serving the highest quality, house-made burgers with an authentic, no-frills attitude – remains exactly the same as it was under the tracks in 2006.
