This post was written by Hatchet reporter David Harvey.

It’s never been just about the burgers at Bobby’s Burger Palace.

The K Street restaurant, owned by Food Network star Bobby Flay, has also been in the business of promoting its namesake’s brand since it opened in 2011. Now, it has another goal: Preparing the next generation of restaurateurs.

A GW junior is one of five first-time marketing interns at the restaurant this semester, taking part in what Flay calls “Bobby’s Burger Palace University.”

“The whole idea is to create energy around Bobby’s Burger Palace. We do a lot of charity work. We are involved in local meetings to get people more aware we are involved,” Flay said in an interview.

He added that he designed the intern position as “a dream for someone who wants to work in the restaurant” business. That’s what junior Patrick McCormic, an international affairs major who plans to pursue a career in food or sports marketing, hopes to get from the experience.

McCormic, who earns college credit and $8.25 for the position, mostly performs marketing tasks for the restaurant, including contributing to its Tumblr, serving as a brand ambassador and organizing on-campus community service projects.

For their first project, McCormic and his colleagues conducted a community survey to find out what students think about Bobby’s Burger Palace, and if they take part in one of the restaurant’s signature features – “crunchifying” burgers.

“Bobby is really interested to see what students want and think about Bobby’s Burger Palace and what burgers they like,” McCormic said. “Do they know about our money crunch discount? Do they know that [Bobby’s] accepts GWorld?”

McCormic first heard about the internship through GWork and Facebook, and wanted to help promote the brand and his international affairs degree inspired him to pursue marketing.

Plus, he said, “they pay in burgers.”