Bouncing back from a rough start: Jana Křivánková on Burger Service’s transformation and future plans
Jana, you and Dalibor, Burger Service’s head chef, joined the business during a rather turbulent time. What stage was it in when you took it over in January 2025?
Launching a new concept is always the hardest part. I’d like to start by emphasising that Radek Pecko and his team at the time did a tremendous job — they started completely from scratch.
Being under the wing of Ambiente has many advantages, but when opening a new location, it also means enormous pressure. People often automatically expect that everything will be flawless from the very first minute. But that’s not how it works in reality — every new business needs time to get up and running and settle in. Guests’ reactions at the time were highly polarised — some were thrilled, others not so much. Dalibor and I jumped in at a time when the business had already gone through its most challenging “infancy” period, and we were able to focus on further fine-tuning. Tomáš Karpíšek reached out to us back then, because he’d known us for a long time from Ambiente. He knew who we were and what he could expect from us.
Taking charge of a business that was known to be facing a major transformation and constant improvement, all while juggling life as a mom of two must have been a challenge.
When Tomáš and I talked about returning to Ambiente, I immediately made it clear that, given my children, the most I could consider was a part-time position. But Burger Service is a small business, we have a team of ten to twelve people, so it’s manageable. A big thanks goes to Dalibor — he’s the one who’s mainly in charge here, and I’m so glad I can rely on him. Plus, after Dalibor and I closed our own restaurant, we figured it would be best to have a food truck and take it on the road. With Burger Service, our dream of something small and fast has kind of come true.
Did you have any previous experience with fast food?
No, we didn’t. And to be honest, we’re still learning the ropes. We’re figuring out what people want, who actually comes to us, and how to do it all as well as possible. Even though we’ve been here for over a year and the business has come a long way, I still feel like we’re on a journey and there’s a lot of work ahead of us.
About a month after we started, Tomáš took us to Copenhagen. There, he showed us the concepts he drew on when Burger Service was being conceived. Thanks to that, we understand much better exactly what it’s all about. The original idea wasn’t ours — I didn’t even eat burgers that often myself before.
What specifically did you focus on? What changed?
First, we tackled the bun. That was a major topic even before we joined the team. We continued to refine it, and in the end, Tomáš Valkovič helped (Editor’s note: currently the head chef Skô). Our current roll isn’t as sweet; it’s very fluffy, and most importantly, it brings out the flavours of the meat, cheese, and other ingredients. It compresses nicely and holds the burger together perfectly, but doesn’t overpower the flavour.
Has the menu changed as well?
We’ve been keeping an eye on what people are interested in, and we’ve seen that one of the most popular burgers is the smash. That’s why we decided in July to make all our burgers “smash” style. We also narrowed down our selection of sauces, removed the salads, and updated the menu boards and printed menus. And we switched chicken suppliers because we wanted higher-quality ingredients. We definitely want to keep the chicken option as an alternative to beef. However, I still see the current situation as a transitional phase — right now, we’re planning to change part of the menu again.
In the beginning, Burger Service also received quite a few negative reviews. That’s tough for any business. Have you heard that things have turned around for the better?
In December 2025, we exceeded a four-star rating on Google. We were thrilled because we’d been stuck below that threshold for a long time. I have to say that lately we’ve been getting really great reviews. It’s a huge credit to the whole team.
What changed within the team that made this work so well?
We adjusted our organisational structure. We now have two shift managers who are responsible for the restaurant’s operations. We’ve also brought in more students to help, and our experience with them has been excellent—both sides are satisfied. Also, after some persuasion, Kristýna Zatloukalová joined us, whom Dalibor and I have known for quite some time from Pasta Fresca.
Compared to the early days, how are things running today, and what are your plans?
As I mentioned, we’ll be removing some burgers and adding others, so the entire menu board will change.
The incentives for guests with the Ambiente loyalty card have also helped us a lot. Once a month we run special promotions, send out newsletters, and are active on social media, and it’s working. And the best news for me personally is that our sales are growing and we’re getting more guests. That’s the greatest confirmation for us that we’re on the right track.
What has Jana’s journey with Ambiente been like?
Part of Ambiente since 2006, she started out as a part-time student worker at Pasta Fresca, then worked at Café Savoy. When Lokál on Dlouhá Street opened, she joined as a shift manager and later led the establishment as general manager. Her next steps took her to LokálCZ, followed by a maternity leave with her two children. She and her husband, Dalibor Křivánek, then ran their own restaurant for three seasons. In January 2025, they returned to Ambiente together and took over Burger Service.
Are you planning any operational changes? After all, you’re right in the heart of the action on Náměstí Republiky, where a lot is changing right now.
We’d like to set up an order kiosk soon; that looks promising. It’s a bit of a nuisance, though, that the Kotva shopping centre is undergoing renovation right next to us. At one point, the whole area was completely barricaded off; the situation has improved now, but we still have the renovation of the entire square ahead of us. We’re doing our best to ensure our guests have a pleasant experience here.
To wrap things up on a lighter note — have you developed a taste for burgers yet?
It wasn’t that I didn’t like them; it was more that they weren’t a food I would have sought out on my own. Now, of course, the number of burgers in my diet has increased significantly, if only because I want to keep track of how our burgers taste and what their quality is like. So yes, I like them! But the ones who are most excited about us working at a burger joint are our kids. Because when we don’t have time to cook at home, a burger always saves the day.
