Terry and Brit Ratto, a husband-and-wife team from Morgan Hill, believe in their new project so much that they decided to leave their jobs of 25 years to try to build a “better burger.” The Rattos are opening a local branch of Mooyah Burgers, Fries & Shakes in Morgan Hill, with possible plans for MOOYAHs in Los Gatos and San Jose, as well.

MOOYAH’s known for its fresh buns, a plethora of premium toppings and a complex, labor-intensive french fry cooking process. SanJose.com grabbed a coffee with co-owners Terry and Brit Ratto to talk about Mooyah and what it’s like working together every day.

SanJose.com: What inspired you to bring Mooyah to the Bay Area?

Brit Ratto (BR): My husband came home one day and said “I don’t want to do this any more,” so we decided to pursue a new career that would make us both feel good.

Terry Ratto (TR): We wanted to go with what we thought would be a good, enjoyable product, but also be able to give back to the community. After researching several franchises, the food industry just made sense and MOOYAH felt like a perfect fit.

What makes Mooyah different?

TR: We start by baking our own white and wheat buns in-house every day and serve them toasted. We put lean, never-frozen ground beef, turkey or a black bean patty on top of that, and from there customers can choose from a variety of toppings including avocado, mushrooms and five different kinds of cheeses.

That’s a lot of cheese. Tell me about this complicated fry process I keep hearing about.

TR: Our regular and sweet potato fries take approximately 24 hours to prepare. First, they’re freshly punched, rinsed a minimum of five times to get rid of the starch, par-fried, cooled off and then fried to order. This process helps make the fries crispy on the outside and moist on the inside.

So, What’s it like working together?

BR: I will say it has been very different working together in business versus in our separate positions of the past. We have conflicting ideas sometimes, but we’re getting better. We’ve definitely learned how to accommodate each other and be receptive to each other’s ideas.