Franchising

The Habit Burger Grill aims for growth in East, West Coast markets

Provided by The Habit Burger

July 2, 2021

The Habit Burger Grill, a fast casual chain specializing in charbroiled hamburgers, plans to continue expansion, hitting markets in New England, California, Las Vegas, New Jersey and Seattle, according to a company press release.

"We're on the cusp of an exciting new era for The Habit Burger Grill, facing vast untapped growth potential and strong unit economics. The development team has been designing our strategy for several months and the energy behind it is taking shape," Russ Bendel, CEO of The Habit Burger Grill said in the release. "Along with forging ahead on our growth strategy, we've firmly established our operating model at the leading edge of the fast-casual sector through the implementation of tech-enabled innovations. The impact has been offering additional convenience enhancing the customer experience and streamlining in-store operations with a modernized mobile app, kiosks, online ordering and third-party delivery services."

The company plans to continue expansion in its native California, but is looking to target several Southeastern and East Coast markets as well. The Habit Burger Grill said it plans on opening more new locations this year than any other year in the company's 52-year history.

"Our current franchise partners have been incredibly impressed at just how relevant our model is in today's rapidly evolving world – as it relates to both consumer preferences and what operators expect from concepts," John Phillips, chief global business partnership officer said in the release. "The support we have in place for franchisees is extremely thorough. From the technology to real estate, training, design, marketing and menu innovation, the package we put together for franchisees provides 360-degree guidance on running great restaurants."

The Habit Burger Grill, in recent years, has worked to build its brand for the future, with app and web order sales reaching 40% of revenues in 2020, according to the release.

For franchisees, The Habit Burger Grill can work with a range of store models, including in-line end caps, end cap drive-thrus and free-standing drive-thrus, all in suburban settings. The brand also has locations in non-traditional venues such as colleges and universities, airports and amusement parks.

In addition to the signature Charburger, cooked over an open flame, The Habit Burger Grill's menu also features salads, sandwiches and sides such as tempura green beans, sweet potato and French fries, and onion rings. Entrees include ahi tuna, chicken and hand-filleted marinated steak.

Prospective franchisees interested in The Habit Burger Grill should possess an entrepreneurial spirit and enthusiasm for the brand, proven business experience within restaurant operations, have the dedicated resources and infrastructure to operate restaurants, as well as the ability to source real estate and construction. Candidates should also have access to enough liquid capital for the development of multiple restaurants in a large territory and ideally live and work in the market they wish to develop.

The Habit Burger Grill, a subsidiary of Yum! Brands Inc., is based in Southern California and has with more than 280 locations in the U.S.