Press Kit
Table of Contents:
I. About BurgerFi
II. Support
III. Press Release
IV. Media Highlights
About BurgerFi
BurgerFi arrived on the scene in February 2011, in sunny Lauderdale-By-The-Sea,
Florida. Five years and thousands of branded-bun burgers later, we’ve become the
go-to spot for good times and great food in more than 20 states across the U.S.
We’ve been named among the “Top 50 Movers and Shakers” by Fast Casual, "#1
Fastest Growing Company” by Technomic, "Top Brands of 2014" by Fast
Casual.com, and "Franchise of the Year" by QSR Magazine. We’ve also nabbed
“Best Burger” nods more times than we can count. But the one thing we always
call ourselves? Really, really passionate.
Maybe it’s because BurgerFi got its start from gourmet chefs committed to serving
fresh food of the highest quality. At BurgerFi, we don’t use shortcuts. Just classic
American recipes created from honest ingredients and made-to-order by our
smiling team. What’s more, we’re dedicated to improving every neighborhood we
call home through sustainable design elements and eco-friendly practices.
Here are just some of the ways we’re mixing things up to bring you a better burger
experience.
Our Beef Is Beef
We’re committed to serving hormone-, steroid- and antibiotic-free beef, sourced
from some of the best ranches in the world. We’re talking free-range, grass-fed,
never-frozen beef, with no added chemicals or preservatives. Basically, beef the
way nature intended.
Your Favorites, Our Chef’s Touch
We really get cooking with our chef-driven menu items, including our made-inhouse VegeFi burger, Vienna and Kobe-style hot dogs with all the fixings, fresh
hand-cut fries and onion rings served with housemade sauces, frozen custard,
natural sugar cane sodas, and craft beer and wine. Our BurgerFi Sauce alone uses
more than a dozen fresh ingredients, and takes 40 minutes to prepare. That’s for
one sauce! But you’ll find this level of pride in everything we do.
Keeping It Cool
Guests love our eye-catching, 10-foot fans, and it’s easy to see why. Two fans per
location keep BurgerFi the perfect temperature, whether you’re sidled up in the
restaurant or people watching on the patio. The best part? Their environmentally
conscious design means they consume 66% less energy. A smart fan that’s as ecofriendly as it is sleek? Now that’s cool.
We Milk the Container
Literally. Those picnic and four-top tables you’re gathered around? They’re not
just eye-catching. They’re made from 701,040 upcycled milk jugs.
From Soda to Seat
But we don’t stop at our tables. If you’re sitting on one of our red chairs at any of
our restaurants, which means you’re sitting on 111 upcycled Coca-Cola bottles.
That’s more than 150,960 nationwide.
Going (BurgerFi) Green
Take a look around – the wood panels our walls are made from Number 2 pine
lumber, the most renewable timber source available. Plus, thanks to paperless
hand drying systems in all of our restaurants, another 621 trees are saved yearly.
Support
All
new
BurgerFi
International®
franchisees receive the
support and training
required to open their
restaurants quickly and
efficiently, including:
 Site selection assistance and guidance, including field visits
 Professional layout, blueprint, design, and construction document review
and analysis
 Complete equipment lists and specifications
 Pre-approved suppliers




Guidance in securing a liquor license
Grand opening promotions assistance and on-site opening assistance
Operational and management tools
Comprehensive pre-opening assistance and restaurant opening training
support
Once your BurgerFi International® restaurant is open, you'll have the continuing
guidance, consultation, and support of your BurgerFi Regional Manager. Help or
advice is always a phone call away. Ongoing support services include:
 Confidential operations manual documenting BurgerFi International®
operational procedures
 Ongoing marketing guidance
 Ongoing operational, marketing, and financial control consultation, as
needed
 National purchasing programs
 Scheduled visits from your Franchise Consultant and your Territory
Marketing Manager
Our start-up and ongoing training programs will instruct you and your staff in
many aspects of running a BurgerFi International franchise, including:
 Preparation of all BurgerFi International® menu items
 Quality and food portion control
 Effective food service operations
 Beverage and inventory management
 Marketing, promotions, and public relations
 Management tools, systems, and routines
 Certified Trainer program
 Cleanliness, organization, and sanitation standards
 Execution of opening and closing management functions
Media Highlights
Brooklyn Car Dealer’s Burger Chain Is
Taking On Shake Shack
By Craig Giammona
June 1, 2015
BurgerFi currently has 69 locations. Photographer: Craig Giammona/Bloomberg
While Shake Shack Inc.’s growth prospects have sent its shares soaring on the
New York Stock Exchange, a closely held burger chain founded by a Brooklyn
car dealer has been expanding at a faster clip in a bid to overtake its rival.
BurgerFi, started in Florida by Plaza Auto Mall founder John Rosatti, almost
doubled its store count last year by adding 31 restaurants. U.S. system sales,
which include revenue from franchisees, jumped more than twofold to $66.4
million, making BurgerFi the fastest-growing limited-service burger chain last
year, according to researcher Technomic Inc.
BurgerFi now has 69 locations, about the same number as Shake Shack, and is
courting the same customers, who have turned away from fast-food giants in
search of better ingredients. While the so-called better burger field is crowded
-- Five Guys Burgers & Fries, Smashburger and Habit Burger also compete in
the space -- BurgerFi executives credit restaurateur Danny Meyer’s Shake
Shack for expanding the market.
“They got people used to paying a little more for a gourmet burger,” Steve
Lieber, BurgerFi’s Global Brand Ambassador, said in an interview at the
chain’s restaurant on the Upper East Side, its only New York City location.
“We think we’re just as good, if not better than Shake Shack.”
In addition to burgers, BurgerFi’s menu features beer and wine, hand-cut
fries, Chicago-style hot dogs, custard and shakes. The chain serves only two
items with more than five ingredients: its special sauce and its quinoa veggie
burger. The chain’s beef is supplied by Meyer Ranch and is free of hormones
and antibiotics. The company's name is a play on its founders' desire to lead a
"BurgerFication" of the World.
‘CEO’ Burger
BurgerFi, based in North Palm Beach, opened its first restaurant in 2011 in
Fort Lauderdale. Rosatti had started two other Florida restaurants and saw
success with a $20 “CEO” burger made with all-natural beef. He got in touch
with Lieber, another Brooklyn native with restaurant experience who was
living in Florida, and asked him to figure out how to make all-natural fastfood burgers.
Five Guys, founded in Arlington, Virginia, in 1986, was the true trailblazer in
the better burger business, BurgerFi CEO Corey Winograd said. The chain had
sales of $1.21 billion across more than 1,100 U.S. locations last year.
Winograd said that within four years BurgerFi may have about 300 locations,
about as many as West Coast chain In-N-Out Burger. BurgerFi is expanding
abroad this year with locations in Mexico and Panama and will have about 90
restaurants by the end of the year, Winograd said.
The key to expanding BurgerFi will be getting more customers to seek allnatural hamburgers, he said.
“It’s about educating customers about the quality of the food we serve,” he
said. “We see a day where the vast majority of consumers will be spending for
better burgers.”
BurgerFi to expand in Mexico
Fast-casual operator strikes first international franchise agreement
By Ron Ruggles
March 24, 2015
BurgerFi has struck its first international development agreement, for 40
restaurants in the Mexico City area, the fast-casual operator said Tuesday.
North Palm Beach, Fla.-based BurgerFi International LLC said its deal with
EFIT SA DE CV calls for the first restaurant in the area to open in the fall.
EFIT SA DE CV has three partners: Luis Antonio Ortiz Dominguez, Alan
Jaber and Abraham Cohen. They also franchise the U.S.-based Wingstop
and Domino’s Pizza brands in Mexico.
BurgerFi CEO Corey Winograd said in a statement that the Mexico franchise
team “has the genuine passion, industry experience and deep infrastructure
to be our first partner to expand BurgerFi’s presence internationally.”
“We are honored to be selected by BurgerFi as their first international
partner,” said Dominguez, founding partner of EFIT SA DE CV. “We look
forward to bringing the fresh, all-natural, hormone-free concept to Mexico
and replicating the success of the brand internationally.”
BurgerFi was cited last year in Nation’s Restaurant News’ “Next 20” for its
growth potential. In that report, which was calculated based on unit counts
for year-end 2013, the number of new BurgerFi restaurants had grown 175
percent, to 33 locations. The chain now has 68 restaurants.
In 2013, the company tripled its systemwide sales, to an estimated $42.8
million, according to NRN research. Estimated sales per unit showed growth
of 25.6 percent, to
$1.9 million.
BurgerFi was designed to appeal to an eco-friendly customer. Restaurants
feature furniture made from recycled materials, such as chairs made from
soda bottles; ceiling fans to reduce air conditioning use; a low carbon
footprint; and waste recycling.
“Customers everywhere are holding restaurants to higher quality standards,”
Winograd said. “They want clean, natural food. They want to dine in a
restaurant that reflects their own values, such as sustainability, low energy
costs and recycling programs. This is where the future of the burger business
is headed, both in America and abroad.”
It's Official: We Still Haven't Hit
Peak Burger Yet
Upscale fast food may be heating up, but one family-focused
chain is ahead of the pack.
By Jill Krasny
January 16, 2015
As Shake Shack prepares for its initial public offering, another gourmet burger
business is gaining momentum. That would be BurgerFi, a family- focused
chain out of Delray, Florida, that's in such high demand, last year it enjoyed
system-wide gross sales of $66.4 million, a 114 percent increase over 2013.
BurgerFi is projected to double in size this coming year.
From the outset it appears the not-so secret sauce is expansion. BurgerFi
entered 12 new markets last year, including states in New England and the
South, bringing its nationwide presence to 22 markets. The chain also opened
non-traditional storefronts in family-friendly venues such as the Sun Life
Stadium, home to the Miami Dolphins, and the CNN Center in Atlanta.
Yet chief executive Corey Winograd doesn't point to expansion but to the
restaurants' quality. Though over 50 of BurgerFi's units are franchised, each
one relies on a single national distributor and a culinary director is
responsible for monitoring all food vendors so meals remain above par.
Dispatching regional managers to locations around the country has also been
helpful in ensuring they learn best practices.
A contemporary mash-up of burger joint and cafe, BurgerFi's ambiance is just
polished enough to lure young professionals with money to burn and
affordable enough for families in desperate need of a night out. "What's been
happening for decades is people were accustomed to fast food, frozen patties,
and not knowing or investigating what was in their food," says Winograd of
the so-called better burger trend spurred by chains like Bareburger, Back
Yard Burger, and b. good. "People want to know the the source of the food
that they're eating."
To that end, BurgerFi delivers, offering natural angus patties cultivated from
cows free of growth hormones and steroids and some of the freshest, most
local ingredients around. Burgers start at $4.97 and are served atop twicebuttered Martin's potato rolls.
This year, Winograd says the focus remains on expansion and developing more
non-traditional storefronts for airports around the country. Up next: Ft.
Lauderdale International. "Of course, there's always a risk of growing too fast,"
admits Winograd, who says he's not worried about diluting BurgerFi's eco-chic
culture, "but when you have the right team in place and have a proven system,"
things tend to work out. "For us, the sky is the limit."
Restaurant Marketing Watch: Operators try to
stand out with gift card offers
By: Lisa Jennings
November 25, 2014
Americans are expected to spend about $31 billion on gift cards this year, and
restaurants are angling to get a larger piece of that action.
The 61-unit BurgerFi chain, based in West Palm Beach, Fla., is celebrating
#GivingTuesday with an offer to match in-store gift card purchases dollar for
dollar through Dec. 31, with a donation to the American Red Cross. BurgerFi
has committed to donating at least $10,000 to the nonprofit group.
BurgerFi Reviews Success of
Sustainability Efforts
April 22, 2015
BurgerFi has made a commitment to sustainability as part of its standard
business practices and operations — from the food it serves, to the design of
its restaurants.
With 69 locations throughout the U.S., the brand’s considerable efforts serve
to minimize the company’s carbon footprint in a number of ways by
employing a variety of environmentally-friendly best practices.
While it may not be the most cost-effective route to building a leading
restaurant chain, sustainability is central to BurgerFi’s brand promise. The
positive impact from these efforts thus far, includes:
1,076,400 pounds of peanut oil are
recycled into biodiesel fuel every year
 701,040 milk jugs are upcycled to make the
large picnic tables and four-top tables located
throughout all BurgerFi restaurants
 150,960 Coca-Cola bottles are upcycled to
make the chairs featured chain-wide throughout all
BurgerFi restaurants
 20,000 gallons of water are saved (and less
chemicals used) annually chain-wide due to
BurgerFi’s three- compartment washing sinks
 35 tons of paper towels are saved per year
chain wide through BurgerFi’s hand drying systems,
which translates
to 621 trees saved per year
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Each BurgerFi location uses two large ceiling fans per location; these
fans use 66 percent less electricity
Wood panels on BurgerFi’s walls are made from number-2 pine
lumber, which is the most renewable timber source available
In addition, BurgerFi only does business with purveyors committed to the
ethical treatment of animals, and the brand’s tables were originally designed
by Tolix, the same company that produces recycled metal furniture for the
Louvre in Paris