These Burger Chains Are Taking Over America

before we had soup chains salad chains and non-gmo smoothie chains there were burger chains it's no secret that americans still love burgers and more high-quality burger chains are popping up across the country which are the latest to make their mark on the us's culinary landscape perhaps you're familiar with youtube sensation jimmy donaldson also known as mr beast according to forbes he was the second highest paid youtuber of 2020 and thus far has garnered well over 50 million views for his most noted video i opened a restaurant that pays you to eat at it of course looks can be deceiving what the video doesn't really disclose is that mr beastburger isn't a restaurant at all rather it's a virtual dining concept that delivers food straight to your door with no physical location the ease of reproducing the idea notched mr beast burger hundreds of locations in less than a year of operation leveraging off mr beast's popularity the chain has exploded onto the virtual restaurant scene sending out crispy smashed burgers in simple familiar formats there's nothing groundbreaking on this menu which consists of a burger cheeseburger and bacon cheeseburger alongside fries and chicken sandwiches but with the combination of convenience and an internet celebrity's name attached to it all mr beastberger has already become one of the biggest players in the game this 10 year old burger chain based in florida might be the most lauded new burger joint to hit the scene in decades its collection of creative burgers come from 100 american angus beef in each of its franchised and corporate stores uses cage-free chicken as well want wagyu beef on your burger burgerfi can do that too that's part of why none other than martha stewart joined burgerfi's board of directors in 2021 in its brief decade of existence burgerfi has racked up some pretty impressive hardware too notching consumer reports as accolades in 2020 qsr magazine also thought enough of burgerfi to name them its breakout brand of 2020 while it also landed a spot on fast casual's 100 movers in shakers list burgerfi doesn't look to be slowing down anytime soon the trend of over-the-top javier cardiologist on speed dial burgers seems to have subsided just a little bit in the past few years and while most restaurants aren't clamoring to see who can throw more heart-stopping ingredients between a sesame seed bun this californian-based chain is quietly putting out crazy stuff on a massive scale slater's 5050 claims to have been the first burger chain to use a patty that's half bacon and half beef seriously ramping up the flavor not content to pack flavor into the patty slaters has also pioneered the most eye-catching burger creations of any chain in recent memory the peanut butter and jealousy burger has angus beef topped with thick cut bacon peanut butter and jelly meanwhile the 24k burger tops half a pound of wagyu beef with truffle cheese arugula roasted garlic aioli bacon and a brioche bun dusted in gold no it's not exactly health food but these are some truly unique burgers you won't find anywhere else i don't believe in coddling people in the wild there is no health care once upon a time getting a legendary greasy gooey shake shack burger and its trademark crinkle fries meant going all the way to new york city and waiting in line to get one but this is not the case any longer as shake shacks seem to be popping up faster than road construction crews in nearly all of our major cities its plans for expansion are indeed aggressive according to restaurant dive the company borrowed 225 million dollars to support its growth of course you don't raise nearly a quarter billion dollars by throwing a greasy bag of food on the table and waiting for the cash to roll in shake shack's success has been proven in 2018 qsr magazine reported that shake shack earned 630 million dollars in sales averaging over 4 million dollars per location in 2019 business insider named it one of its fastest growing chains with 27 growth that year in the restaurant industry much like in life it's important to learn from your mistakes such is the case with colorado-based smash burger whose flat grill burger concept was poised for global dominance a decade ago before quickly learning it had expanded too fast the result was a big time brand contraction with 78 stores closing between 2018 and 2020 according to qsr magazine but smashburger has taken a step back reevaluated how to expand and now plans to open 40 new locations in 2021 the new smash burger will be getting a new look too these will include city-specific designs more options for contactless pickup and food lockers to keep orders warm while people wait interestingly smash burger is not chasing down the ghost kitchen craze like some other chains smash burger president carl bachmann told business insider that fast casual is as much a real estate game as a food one instead he sees long-term value in real locations where customers can sit down to eat the smash burger style seems to be all the rage where a high-fat meatball is pressed onto a seasoned grill and most of the fat is trapped inside the seared caramelized outside but lest we forget there's a good number of people who prefer their burgers with less grease and more smoke and for that forgotten set there is the habit burger grill a southern california-based chain that appreciates the beauty of a good char-broiled burger the chain that started in santa barbara california in 1969 now boasts 280 locations in 14 states as well as 11 overseas but it's not just numbers that bode well for habitsburger's success and the continued growth of the habitburger grill seems a lot more likely after yum brands acquired habitburger in 2020 for a reported 375 million dollars what started as a small midwestern custard stand raked in an astonishing 1.7 billion dollars in sales in 2019 and now lures and throngs of customers with its butter basted burgers and fresh frozen custards a huge part of the culver's appeal is the cholesterol raisin creation that is the butter burger that's where fresh beef is grilled then placed on a bun painted with a generous helping of what else butter it's a favorite in wisconsin where culver's got its start and they're serving stuff up like cheese curds and frozen custards on culver's dairy heavy menu but it's not just cheese happy wisconsinites who love this stuff thrill is named culvers as one of the top regional fast food chains in the country although calling it regional would be a bit of a stretch after the runaway expansion experienced by culver's in recent years it's already landed itself at number five on entrepreneurs franchise 500 list culver's third straight top 10 showing and its highest ranking ever with celebrities and big names getting into the fast food biz it might seem that the rich and famous are suddenly discovering that fast casual restaurants are an ideal way to diversify their portfolios it was early on that the wahlberg brothers were in on the game starting the cleverly named wahlburgers back in 2011 in massachusetts but it wasn't new kid on the block donnie or entourage inspiration mark who got the inspiration for this fast growing burger chain it was lesser known brother paul wahlberg a chef who had a dream of starting a family run restaurant and turned it into a 49 location jeopard and well yes wahlburgers still carries a famous name the man who's overseeing the restaurants is rapid expansion is actually ceo john fuller his plans as he explained to the boston globe are to see the business expand to 300 locations in the next five years with only 30 of those corporate owned with locations in 20 states as well as germany and canada wallburgers clearly has the right stuff in the opinion of its many customers yes the name of this pasadena-california-based chain of all the gourmet hot dogs might lead one to think it's slightly misplaced in a list of up-and-coming burger chains but then one would also probably have never tried the chains hangover burger made with american cheese smoked bacon chili and egg on a sweet hawaiian roll because if those doubters had they'd immediately know that dog house does burgers as well as it does upscale hot dogs the chain saw same store sales up 13 in pandemic plagued 2020 a number bolstered mostly by dog houses shipped towards virtual kitchens and delivery only concepts this uptick in revenue is part of the optimism dog house has towards expansion bolstered by deals for up to 350 new locations signed back in 2017 and though that hoped for meteoric rise hasn't quite come to fruition yet dog house is still on track to open 15 new stores in seven states that's not to mention dog houses absolute brands virtual kitchens which include a burger concept among their family of offerings while you're arguably not going to find a low quality burger anywhere on this list this austin based chain of burger and beer joints takes the dedication to freshness to another level not only are hop dottie's beef patties all ground in house but they also bake all their own bread surely a big reason why thrillist named them one of the nation's most underrated burger chains they've also been given some serious accolades for their red velvet milkshakes they're made with actual red velvet cake of course [Music] yummy hop dotty has taken a slower approach to expansion as they have currently only 32 locations spread over five states it's worth noting that only one of those states tennessee is east of the mississippi still the spot named after hops and the scottish nickname for cows saw impressive growth in the late 2010s with a 55 increase in sales between 2016 and 2017. once venerable burger barons like burger king decided to start putting plant-based burgers on their menus it was only a matter of time until we encountered an entire fast casual restaurant full of meatless meals and so we have it with next level burger a bend oregon-based burger spot that in true organ fashion gives us a menu of full plant-based burgers founders matt and sierra dig wider started the spot in 2014 with an honest determination to help change the world by promoting more sustainable eating habits the result is a menu of sandwiches you're not going to find at any other burger spot all made with organic and non-gmo ingredients next level's even got a line of vegetarian chicken sandwiches too and while it's not yet challenging popeyes for spicy supremacy it's still a solid substitute next level is looking to change the way america eats burgers and is poised for breakout success soon sometimes it takes a while for a classic to catch on or sometimes like david hasselhoff you have to find fame in another country before your home country can really appreciate you such is the case with wayback burgers which was founded in delaware back in 1991 but never made much of a national splash fast forward to 2020 when one franchisee in manitoba was awarded a contract for a whopping 11 franchises in canada immediately making them the fastest growing franchisee in the company that agreement is part of wayback's master franchise program which has way back developing locations in 38 countries currently the chain boasts a respectable 153 locations in over 30 states in 10 countries but is poised for much more its exponential franchise growth in the 2010s also helped landed on franchise chatters list of best hamburger franchises in which the site also called out wayback's charitable work with the boys and girls club as part of its appeal oftentimes it's better to be clever than big that's clearly the philosophy in action at dallas-based liberty burger their menu of creative burgers includes names like woodstock the libertine and jackie o each description is written in the first person as if your prospective lunch is trying to sell you on its own merits for example the nooner boasts no need to change out of your sweatpants for me in fact that elastic waistband might come in handy despite having only six stores around the dallas fort worth area liberty burger still pops up on national lists of best burger chains qsr magazine listed it on its list of 40 best fast casual startups in 2020 even though the chain has only been around since 2011 franchise chatters similarly cited liberty burger on its list of best burger franchises from 2017 to 2018 calling out the alcoholic milkshakes and local texas beers as big reasons why liberty burger stands out amongst the crowd check out one of our newest videos right here plus even more mashed videos about your favorite fast food chains are coming soon subscribe to our youtube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one

Channel: Mashed

Views: 94,984

Keywords: mashed, burgers, food, burger chains, hamburgers

Id: VgQyemP8W9k

Length: 13min 27sec (807 seconds)

Published: Mon May 31 2021