Burger Lounge

Burger Lounge
Restaurant information
Established 2007 (2007)
Food type fast casual
Other locations San Diego, California and Los Angeles, California
Website burgerlounge.com

Burger Lounge is an American fast casual restaurant chain that specializes in hamburgers made from American grass-fed beef, salads, shakes, French fries and onion rings.[1][2][3] Burger Lounge is headquartered in San Diego, California.[4] In 2007, J. Dean Loring and Michael Gilligan founded the company in La Jolla, California.[5][6] J. Dean Loring is the President and CEO of Burger Lounge.[1][5][7]

History

J. Dean Loring, the son of butcher, opened three restaurants prior to founding Burger Lounge.[5] Loring established Stars Hamburgers, in Northern California's Humboldt County in 1989.[8] In 2007, he partnered with Michael Gillian, a bank CFO, to found the first Burger Lounge in La Jolla, California.[5][9][10] Burger Lounge partnered with Karp Reilly, a private equity firm based in Connecticut, in 2011.[11][12] In 2012, Forbes travel guide included Burger Lounge in its list of "America's 10 Best Burgers".[4] Fastcasual.com ranked the restaurant 21st on its list of "Top 100 Movers and Shakers" in 2012.[7]

In April 2013, Burger Lounge opened its first location in North County, San Diego.[13] That year, the restaurant had seven location in San Diego, California and four in the Los Angeles, California area.[13][14] LA Weekly named the restaurant "Best New Restaurant" in 2013.[15] The restaurant was also voted "Best Burger" by San Diego Magazine in 2014 year.[16] The restaurant previously received the title in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2012.[17] In 2014, the restaurant group had 13 locations.[7]

Products

Burger Lounge serves hamburgers consisting of grass-fed beef.[1][3][17] The meat is sourced from two ranches.[5] The menu also includes organic quinoa veggie burgers, free-range turkey burgers, chicken tenders (referred to as "Chicken Digglers"),[18] Albacore tuna sandwiches, salads, French fries, onion rings and shakes.[1][2][6][11] The restaurant uses locally sourced, organic, farm-raised, regional and seasonal ingredients.[19]

Corporate responsibility

The restaurants' food waste is composted, post-industrial packaging is biodegradable and used cooking oil is used to power delivery vehicles.[2] Burger Lounge utilizes used cooking oil converted to biofuel by NewLeaf to power its delivery vehicles.[15] In July 2012, the restaurant donated proceeds from sales to local student-run community supported agriculture (CSA) and school gardening programs. Burger Lounge uses recyclable products and is green certified.[20]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Spotting the next Chipotle: 10 restaurants to watch". Retrieved December 7, 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 Emily Saladino (October 1, 2013). "10 Fast-Food Joints That Treat Their Workers Well". Retrieved December 7, 2014.
  3. 1 2 Garrett Snyder (August 22, 2012). "Burger Lounge: A Lesson in the Classics". Retrieved December 7, 2014.
  4. 1 2 "10 Great Little Restaurant Chains You Haven't Heard Of -- Yet". Retrieved December 7, 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Candice Woo (April 17, 2013). "J. Dean Loring on Burger Lounge's Beginnings & Future". Retrieved December 7, 2014.
  6. 1 2 "Burger Lounge Opening 11th California Location". June 17, 2013. Retrieved December 7, 2014.
  7. 1 2 3 "2012 Fast Casual Top 100 Movers and Shakers" (PDF). Retrieved December 7, 2014.
  8. ↑ Erin Jackson (February 21, 2014). "Grilled: J. Dean Loring of Burger Lounge". Retrieved December 7, 2014.
  9. ↑ Aaron Claverie (August 25, 2014). "TEMECULA: Burger Lounge coming to town". Retrieved December 7, 2014.
  10. ↑ Gabrielle Karol (March 5, 2013). "Burger Lounge Aims to Stand Out From the Pack". Retrieved December 7, 2014.
  11. 1 2 Lori Weisberg (June 15, 2014). "Fast-growing "fast casual" food". Retrieved December 4, 2014.
  12. ↑ Lisa Jennings (February 14, 2011). "Burger Lounge gets private-equity investment". Retrieved December 7, 2014.
  13. 1 2 David Garrick (December 30, 2013). "Carlsbad Burger Lounge opens Thursday". Retrieved December 7, 2014.
  14. ↑ "Del Mar Opening to Be Burger Lounge's 10th Location". April 17, 2013. Retrieved December 7, 2014.
  15. 1 2 Karen Pendergrass (June 11, 2013). "Burger Lounge". Retrieved December 7, 2014.
  16. ↑ "Gourmet Grassfed Burgers: Burger Lounge Del Mar". Retrieved December 7, 2014.
  17. 1 2 Erin Jackson (June 9, 2011). "San Diego: Going Beyond Beef at Burger Lounge". Retrieved December 7, 2014.
  18. ↑ fathead design, inc. "Burger Lounge". Burger Lounge.
  19. ↑ Ethan Bailey (April 8, 2013). "Burger Lounge is a fresh alternative to fast food". Retrieved December 7, 2014.
  20. ↑ Frank Sabatini Jr. (December 13, 2010). "Q&A with the man who never lounges". Retrieved December 7, 2014.
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