News

Rolling Stones guitarist's son opens London's first BurgerFi

September 22, 2016

BurgerFi is rolling into London, thanks to Rolling Stone guitarist, Ron Wood’s son, Jamie, whose Ground Round Limited franchise group will operate the chain’s new restaurant, right in Queen Elizabeth’s backyard of Wembley Central Square.

A news release about the expansion said that Wood and hospitality industry veteran, Constantine Kulukundis, will develop 10 new restaurants throughout the U.K. over the next several years. In fact, a second London location will open later this year.

"For the past five years, BurgerFi has done a great job establishing itself as a leader in the better burger space with immense potential, which drove my business partner and I to franchise the concept in London," Wood said in a statement. "The corporate team has passion like I've never seen before, and they go above and beyond to set their franchise partners up for success. Because of that, I truly believe that BurgerFi will succeed in this new market, and I look forward to growing its presence even more over the next several years."

BurgerFi leadership is shooting to have 100 restaurants open by year’s end, with strong growth in the U.S. and worldwide propelling the addition of an expected 24 total U.S. openings and four additional international openings by the end of 2016. Additionally, a news release said the brand is on track to report a record-high system-wide sales increase of 20 percent by the end of December.

"In just five years, we've grown from a single restaurant in South Florida to an internationally recognized franchise with 89 open locations, which has further fueled our franchise development nationwide,” BurgerFi CEO Corey Winograd said in a statement. "Our fast-paced growth is a true testament to BurgerFi's commitment to providing a premier better burger experience in a fast-casual environment, and we're confident that Jamie and Constantine, along with our other dedicated franchisees, will help us continue our growth worldwide and take the BurgerFi brand to new heights."

BurgerFi plans to open 35 new restaurants next year, including the chain's first locations in Panama and Kuwait.