βurgerβusiness

Higher food prices seem a certain result of the drought that has parched about one-third of the U.S. How high prices might go, which proteins will see the sharpest gains and when operators and consumers will feel the impact are the key questions, and there are disagreements and conflicting forecasts. Should burger-concept operators be concerned, [...]

Tom Galis loves burgers but the burger business itself is starting to leave him a little cold. Galis (officially Gialamboukis, but no one calls him that) operates the six Goodburger locations in New York City, and he readily concedes that his restaurants’ are like reliable Toyota Corollas parked among amenity-laden BMWs. It may not be flashy, [...]

Apparently it’s crystal-ball-prediction time and I’m already late. So I’ll give one prediction plus a few burger trend observations.  2011 will be the Year of the Stuffed Burger. Why? Because Burger King is going to show off what its new broilers can do by adding cheese-stuffed burgers early next year. Once it does, burger joints [...]

Tom Dentice and Ed Rensi opened Tom & Eddie’s, an upscale burger joint, this summer at Yorktown mall in Lombard, Ill., outside Chicago. The menu is a bit pricier than McDonald’s— with which both men spent their working careers and from which thy retired 13 years ago (Rensi as president-CEO of McDonald’s USA and Dentice [...]

  The first South St. Burger Co. opened in Toronto in 2005; this week a 13th location, all in Canada, joined the fun. Although it’s one of several “better burger” concepts that have sprung up in recent years, chain President Jay Gould (right) says he believes South St.’s limited menu and emphasis on upscale toppings [...]

I won’t quibble with any of Bon Appétit’s choices for its “Top 10 Best New Burger Spots.” All 10 look great, and DMK Burger Bar is heavenly. But eight of the 10 opened in 2009. This week we are halfway through 2010, so how can Umami Burger, which opened in February 2009, still be considered “new”?  Yes, Minetta Tavern’s [...]

[May 11: More fowl play as Whataburger adds Honey BBQ Chicken Strip Sandwich.] It’s National Burger Month but high beef prices threaten to ruin the party. Already this week, three burger-menu chains have added non-beef sandwiches. One is Carl’s Jr. , which introduced the Teriyaki Chicken Sandwich today. A variation of a teriyaki-style burger it [...]

It may feel like mid-winter, but at McDonald’s it’s Cheese Season. That’s the theme “Syrová Sezóna”)of a menu in Slovakia and the Czech Republic, but across Europe the chain is rolling out new cheeseburgers. In the Syrová Sezóna markets the cheesy LTOs are the Swiss King and Grand Emmental burgers. No translation is necessary to [...]

Ruby’s Diner certainly isn’t lacking burger choices on its menu, but there’s always room for more. Especially Kobe burgers. That’s why the chain on Feb. 2 adds a new menu of five “Ruby’s Ultimate Kobe Burgers” at its 33 Southern California locations. Each of the new burgers is 100% American Kobe beef served on a grilled [...]

[12/1 Update: See announcement of McD's President Ralph Alvarez's impending retirement here.] McDonald’s redesigned midtown Manhattan restaurant, reimagined with what the Associated Press called “European style,” received an astonishing amount of wide-eyed coverage and surprisingly little analysis. French architect Philippe Avanzi’s interior is nice but it’s most important as a tangible indication of a significant shift in [...]

In 2007, Tom Ryan and partners purchased a Denver burger joint, rebranding it Smashburger for the way fresh hamburger is smashed on its hot griddle. More than three dozen locations have followed and the company says it has sold franchisee agreements that will open more than 200 over the next five years. Smashburger is the [...]

Michael Kornick opened his acclaimed Chicago fine-dining restaurant mk in 1998. He also serves as a restaurant consultant and as chef/partner in N9NE Group, which operates high-end restaurants and clubs in Las Vegas, Chicago and Dallas. He and partner David Morton soon will open DMK Burger Bar on Chicago’s north side. The restaurant will begin [...]

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-V2_pbGnrPUThe better-burger bandwagon rolls on with Fuddruckers announcing that it, too, has improved its beef. Unlike Denny’s and Chili’s, which recently launched burger makeovers, however, Austin, Texas-based Fuddruckers is a burger-focused brand that is bettering its core product. In its Texas and New Mexico restaurants, Fuddruckers is offering Fudds Prime, a new burger with a lineage. The [...]

[Oct. 5 Update: Bacon Deluxe is now included on Wendy's online menu. Click here.] Having told Wall Street analysts for the past several months that Wendy’s brand turnaround would kick into high gear in the fourth quarter, Wendy’s/Arby’s Restaurant Group President-CEO Roland Smith isn’t wasting time. According to operators, the chain next week will be rolling [...]

          httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoXo6yMnsMA If Carl’s Jr. raised the competitive stakes with its Big Carl introduction, Hardee’s marketing for the new Big Hardee pushes all of CKE Restaurants’ chips to the center of the table and calls McDonald’s. CKE CEO Andrew Puzder marshals every advantage he believes Carl’s Jr./Hardee’s burgers have—price, flavor, size, cooking method—and lays them [...]