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That American Craft Beer Week (May 13-19) falls within National Burger Month is only fitting: the synergy between craft beers and craft burgers has helped both these businesses grow rapidly in the past decade. In his BurgerBusiness.com interview earlier this week, Slater’s 50/50 Co-founder Scott Slater said, “I attribute much of my success to craft [...]

Slater’s 50/50 has been upfront about being over-the-top since Scott Slater and Chef Brad Lyons opened the first in Anaheim Hills, Calif., in 2009. Known for its 50/50 burger patty made from equal parts ground beef and ground bacon and for its 100 beer taps, Slater’s 50/50 is nationally recognized for its creative Burgers of [...]

In April 2012, Good Times Burgers & Frozen Custard hired Heathcote Capital LLC, many assumed the Golden, Colo.-based regional QSR was seeking a buyer. But President-CEO said that on the contrary Good Times was looking to buy. This week 39-unit Good Times announced deals with Charlotte, N.C.-based Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar. BurgerBusiness.com spoke with Good [...]

[Update: Read the interview with Good Times CEO Boyd Hoback explaining the deal. It's here.] In retrospect, the headline for the BurgerBusiness.com interview in February with Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar co-owner Frank Scibelli was prescient: “Good Times for Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar.” Now, indeed, Good Times Burgers & Frozen Custard has announced deals to take [...]

Winning the 2013 A.1. Burger Brackets competition may have been Burgatory’s proudest moment so far, but it was hardly its first recognition. Already this year it was voted “Best Burger in Pittsburgh” by NBC affiliate WPXI and included on Urbanspoon’s list of “Most Popular Restaurant Bars in the U.S.” Last year it was named “Best [...]

Burgatory came into the 2013 A.1. Burger Brackets an unproven competitor, but after more than 16,000 votes had been cast through six grueling rounds, the Pittsburgh burger bar with two locations but legions of loyal fans was the last brand standing and the 2013 Champion. It bested Ted’s Montana Grill, a brand that had been [...]

Opened in 2008, Blanc Burgers + Bottles was one of the early adopters of the modern burger-bar concept and was the inaugural winner of the BurgerBusiness.com Burger Brackets competition in 2010 (it repeated in 2011; the 2013 winner will be crowned on Monday). That longevity means it has seen the number of upscale burger competitors [...]

While many others are exploring the synergies between burgers and craft beers, Zinburger Wine & Burger Bar already has jumped ahead a step. The Briad Group this week opens its third Zinburger, a 5,300-square-foot restaurant at Towne Plaza at Garden State Park in Cherry Hill, N.J., proving that a concept that seemed a little out [...]

The total number of U.S. restaurants increased by 4,442 or 0.7% to 616,008 between the fall of 2011 and fall 2012, according to new data from The NPD Group. Additionally, the number of QSR (quick service and fast casual) burger-menu restaurants grew by 0.7% as well. But the most surprising news is that the number [...]

Surprisingly, none of the food/restaurant prognosticators this year is forecasting the collapse of the better-burger bubble. Instead we read that people will abandon colas, that neck meat will be all the rage and that fast-casual concepts will all add drive-thru windows. Given such guesses, what the heck, here are BurgerBusiness.com’s predictions for 2013. Not surprisingly, [...]

Officially, May is National Burger Month, but only because someone we can’t name has so designated it declared so by White Castle in 1992. October, however, has made itself an equally important month for burgers because it’s a great way to celebrate Oktoberfest. Not surprisingly, most of the month’s burger creations are riffs (with varying [...]

Burger King offers it, but only in Canada. Wendy’s recently began offering it in Canada, too. And when the first Canadian Smashburger opened this month in Calgary, it was on the menu. “It” is poutine, the iconic Canadian/Québécois side dish of crisp french fries and squeaky cheese curds covered in brown gravy. As these three [...]

Coming to Chicago for the NRA Show this weekend? Then you’ll want to visit several of the city’s best burger joints.  You don’t think former President Bill Clinton’s coming just to deliver the keynote address do you? Even if you’re not coming to the Show this year, you’ll want to know what some of the [...]

Last year was a turning point for the burger boom. The pivot is evidenced by the relative absence of burger-menu spots on “best new restaurants of 2011” lists. But contrary to what some industry observers/doubters choose to believe, I don’t think this represents a decline in burger popularity. The list below shows that quality new [...]

Fondue-chain operator The Melting Pot Restaurants Inc. tested the better-burger-restaurant waters in November 2010 by opening Burger 21 in Tampa, Fla. The fast-casual restaurant takes its name from the 21 “chef-inspired” burgers—priced from $5.95 to $8.95— on its menu. It also features signature hand-dipped milk shakes, a dipping-sauce bar and more. Front Burner Brands—the corporate [...]