After delays, California chargrilled burger chain returns to the Charlotte area
A California burger chain’s expansion plan includes opening about 50 stores in the Carolinas, including up to 15 in the Charlotte area, after pausing its moves during COVID.
The Habit Burger Grill will open two stores in the Charlotte area by the end of the year, John Phillips, the company’s chief global business partnership officer, told the Observer in an exclusive interview on Friday.
A Habit Burger on Highway 74 in Monroe, near Monroe Crossing Road is expected to open in October, Phillips said. And a Mooresville store at 379 W. Plaza Drive will likely open in December, he said. That location is at the former Popeye’s site off Interstate 77.
The Santa Barbara, California-based chain is known for its cooked-to-order chargrilled burgers.
Other popular menu sandwiches included grilled tenderloin steak, grilled chicken and sushi-grade Ahi tuna cooked, all cooked over an open flame. Along with salads and milkshakes, sides include tempura green beans, sweet potato and french fries, and onion rings.
The Habit Burger Grill doesn’t use heat lamps, holding bins or microwaves.
“Everything is cooked to order,” Phillips said.
The Carolina expansion is part of the company’s goal to swell to 2,000 stores in the U.S. and 10,000 worldwide, Phillips said. Habit Burger has been growing at a 20% clip per year, and also is expanding into franchising to accelerate the growth, looking to build 150 or more stores in just a couple of years.
Habit Burger now has 331 restaurants.
Both Charlotte-area stores will be free-standing buildings, 2,500 to 3,000 square feet. And both will have drive-thrus, a rather new concept for the fast-casual chain that prior to the COVID pandemic was 65% dine-in, Phillips said.
Habit Burger’s North Carolina debut
Three years ago, the Santa Barbara, California-based company debuted in North Carolina, opening at 209 S. Kings Drive in Charlotte. But the Midtown location closed within a year.
“We made a miss in the real estate,” Phillips said, with limited parking and visibility. The fast-casual hamburger joint has closed less than a handful of stores in its 55 years, Phillips said.
Another store opened about the same time just south of Charlotte at 7740 Charlotte Highway, Indian Land, S.C. And, there are three more North Carolina restaurants in Burlington, Clemmons and Fayetteville.
“We never lost faith in the Carolinas and Charlotte in particular,” Phillips said.
Population growth plus land and development market availability make Charlotte appealing, he said. But COVID slowed expansion plans.
Nine other leases are in the pipeline for locations in the Carolinas, including Greensboro and Greenville, S.C. Those stores are expected to open by the end of next year.
The chain has continued to grow over the past three years, adding 70 stores and three states, plus eight countries.
Restaurant changed by COVID
Prior to the pandemic, The Habit Burger was primarily a dine-in restaurant and only 15% of locations had drive-thrus, Phillips said. Now, about 75% have drive-thrus.
“When COVID hit, especially in California, we lost over 50% of our business overnight,” he said. “People like the convenience so we’re opening more drive-thrus than we ever have.”
Habit Burger had launched an app just months before the pandemic for online ordering for pickup and third-party delivery, plus store kiosks. The company also added curbside pickup and “popup” drive-thrus. Now, 45% of restaurant sales are digital, Phillips said.
“The fact that we owned and controlled all that internally, we were able to flip and do curbside service within a month,” he said. “All of those things combined really saved us.”
More about Habit Burger
Two years ago, Yum! Brands, the parent company of KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut, acquired Habit Brands for $315 million.
Habit Burger, which started with a beach shack, has grown to 320 stores in 14 states Arizona, California, Florida, Idaho, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia and Washington, according to the company. There are 11 international locations, seven in China and four in Cambodia.
Each Habit Burger has up to 30 full- and part-time employees.
This story was originally published April 11, 2022 at 6:00 AM with the headline "After delays, California chargrilled burger chain returns to the Charlotte area."