SMU's upperclassmen move-in day was interrupted when Goff's Hamburgers on Hillcrest Avenue went up in flames on Friday, August 12.

Nearly 66 years after the restaurant opened, it has been all but burned to the ground. My residential commons at SMU is almost directly across the street from Goff’s Hamburgers and consequently, I witnessed almost all of the burning.

First of all, I applaud the firefighters who were out there on the hottest day of the summer. On top of battling flames, they were battling over 100-degree heat. From what I counted, there were eleven fire trucks; they clearly needed all the firemen they could get to both put out the fire and prevent dehydration of the firefighters.

Unsurprisingly, with the need for that many firefighters (some young and single for all of my ladies out there looking for a hero), the amount of smoke exceeded them tenfold. The smoke stretched from Goff’s all the way down the road to my dorm. I was walking through clouds of smoke just to enter my building.

Abe Gough and his wife founded the burger joint in 1950 before they passed the company down to their son Harvey. Before Goff’s was sold to James Francis III, customers would tell stories of Harvey's playfully rude personality. He liked to sarcastically harass patrons to make their experience an all-around amusing and unique one.

Goff’s Hamburgers was a gem in Dallas and University Park. Their Goffburgers were to die for. They were perfectly greasy the perfect hangover food. (It is right by a college campus, after all.) But the food was also great for kids, parents and anyone who genuinely enjoyed a nice bite of a burger.

The establishment has not yet confirmed whether or not they will eventually rebuild, but I think it should. It was a haven for burger lovers everywhere. It was walking distance from campus for SMU students. It was a little piece of history that will forever be dearly missed. As of August 12 at 1pm, after a five- (or more) hour fire, Goff’s Hamburgers has officially been cremated. May it rest in peace and may all those mourning this loss find comfort in the memories of a fabulous burger establishment.