The Habit Burger Grill

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Habit Restaurants Inc.
Public
Traded as NASDAQ: HABT
Founded Santa Barbara, California, November 15, 1969
Headquarters Irvine, California
Number of locations
 147[1]
Area served
 Arizona
California
Florida
Idaho
Nevada
New Jersey
Utah
Virginia
Washington
Rhode Island
Key people
 Russel Bendel (CEO)
Ira Fils (CFO)
Website www.habitburger.com

The Habit Burger Grill or just The Habit as it is commonly known, is a fast casual restaurant chain focused on hamburgers, salads, sandwiches, shakes, and french fries, with its headquarters in Irvine, California.[2] The first Habit Burger Grill restaurant opened in Thanksgiving 1969 in Santa Barbara, California, and between 1969 and 2007, the chain slowly expanded around the Los Angeles metropolitan area to 23 restaurants.

In 2007, a private equity firm, KarpReilly, purchased a majority stake in the company and the chain began rapidly expanding. By 2014 it had 109 current and under construction locations. The company is one of the fastest-growing fast food chains in the United States, with a 40% sales increase from 2012 to 2013.[3]

History

The Habit Burger Grill was founded in November 15, 1969 in Santa Barbara, California and up until 2007 was privately owned by a family.[4] In 2007 it was purchased by KarpReilly, a private equity firm that began to rapidly expand the chain, including more recently by franchising the brand. The brand had grown rapidly, and multiple newspapers reported in 2013 that Habit Burger LLC, the parent company to the chain, was planning an IPO.[5][6][7] The report IPO never occurred but as the chain grows even more, the majority owners may take action.

In October 2014, plans for Habit Restaurants to float again were revived, with the firm filing with US regulators for an IPO of its common stock.[8]

Menu

The Habit offers a variety of menu items including hamburgers, salads, sandwiches, shakes, and french fries although their most popular item is their signature hamburger called the "Charburger".[9] The Habit promises 100% fresh ground beef cooked over an open flame and the Charburger includes "mayonnaise, pickle, fresh tomato, lettuce and caramelized onions on a toasted bun." [10]

Locations

The Habit Burger Grill currently has 147 restaurants established or near completion. The majority of their locations are in California but they also have several other locations in other states. They recently announced the expansion of the chain to include 15 franchisee locations in Las Vegas and 25 franchisee locations in Seattle over the next 12 years along with other franchise locations and in early 2015 they plan to begin construction in Northern Virginia.[11][12]

Reception

In mid-2014 the Habit gained national attention when their signature Charburger was named the best burger in America by Consumer Reports. They scored an 8.1 out of 10 among 53,745 participants in the testing coming out first in front of local competitor In-N-Out which came in second.[14][15][16]

References

  1. ↑ "Habit Burger Locations", Habit Burger & Grill. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Contact us", Habit Burger & Grill. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Irvine Burger Chain Reportedly Mulls IPO", Orange County Business Journal. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
  4. ↑ "About us", The Habit Burger Grill. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
  5. ↑ "Habit Restaurants Planning Possible IPO", The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
  6. ↑ "IPO may be on the menu for rapidly growing Habit Burger", Orange County Register. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Restaurant Finance Watch: Habit Burger mulls IPO", National Restaurant News. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ "Chef Adam Baird: The Habit Burger Grill", Fox Los Angeles. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
  10. ↑ "The Habit Burger Grill Menu", The Habit Burger Grill. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
  11. ↑ "Habit Burger moves toward national expansion", Nation's Restaurant News. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
  12. ↑ "America’s ‘best burger’ coming to Seattle", Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
  13. ↑ "West Coast's Habit Burger Grill now in NJ", Fox New York. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
  14. ↑ "The Country's Best Burger Comes From A Chain You've Probably Never Heard Of", Huffington Post. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
  15. ↑ "A Burger Chain You've Probably Never Heard Of Was Just Named Best In America", Business Insider. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
  16. ↑ "Best and worst fast-food restaurants in America", Consumer Reports. Retrieved August 28, 2014.

External links

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