Burger Lounge
Burger Lounge | |
---|---|
Restaurant information | |
Established | 2007 |
Owner(s) | J. Dean Loring |
Food type | fast casual |
Other locations | San Diego, California, Los Angeles, California, Orange County, California, Bay Area, California |
Website | burgerlounge |
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 the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego.[5][6] J. Dean Loring is the President and CEO of Burger Lounge.[1][5][7]
History
J. Dean Loring, the son of a 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 open the first Burger Lounge in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego.[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 second North County location in San Diego County.[13] That year, the restaurant opened seven locations in the San Diego area and four in the Los Angeles 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.[16] The restaurant previously received the title in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2012.[17] In 2014, the restaurant group had 13 locations.[7]
Corporate responsibility
The restaurants' food waste is composted, post-industrial packaging is biodegradable, and used cooking oil converted to biofuel is used to power its delivery vehicles.[2][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.[18]
See also
References
- ^ a b "Spotting the next Chipotle: 10 restaurants to watch". Retrieved December 7, 2014.
- ^ a b Emily Saladino (October 1, 2013). "10 Fast-Food Joints That Treat Their Workers Well". Retrieved December 7, 2014.
- ^ Garrett Snyder (August 22, 2012). "Burger Lounge: A Lesson in the Classics". Retrieved December 7, 2014.
- ^ a b "10 Great Little Restaurant Chains You Haven't Heard Of -- Yet". Retrieved December 7, 2014.
- ^ a b c d Candice Woo (April 17, 2013). "J. Dean Loring on Burger Lounge's Beginnings & Future". Retrieved December 7, 2014.
- ^ "Burger Lounge Opening 11th California Location". June 17, 2013. Retrieved December 7, 2014.
- ^ a b c "2012 Fast Casual Top 100 Movers and Shakers" (PDF). Retrieved December 7, 2014.
- ^ Erin Jackson (February 21, 2014). "Grilled: J. Dean Loring of Burger Lounge". Retrieved December 7, 2014.
- ^ Aaron Claverie (August 25, 2014). "TEMECULA: Burger Lounge coming to town". Retrieved December 7, 2014.
- ^ Gabrielle Karol (March 5, 2013). "Burger Lounge Aims to Stand Out From the Pack". Retrieved December 7, 2014.
- ^ Lori Weisberg (June 15, 2014). "Fast-growing "fast casual" food". Retrieved December 4, 2014.
- ^ Lisa Jennings (February 14, 2011). "Burger Lounge gets private-equity investment". Retrieved December 7, 2014.
- ^ a b David Garrick (December 30, 2013). "Carlsbad Burger Lounge opens Thursday". Retrieved December 7, 2014.
- ^ "Del Mar Opening to Be Burger Lounge's 10th Location". April 17, 2013. Retrieved December 7, 2014.
- ^ a b Karen Pendergrass (June 11, 2013). "Burger Lounge". Retrieved December 7, 2014.
- ^ "Gourmet Grassfed Burgers: Burger Lounge Del Mar". Retrieved December 7, 2014.
- ^ Erin Jackson (June 9, 2011). "San Diego: Going Beyond Beef at Burger Lounge". Retrieved December 7, 2014.
- ^ Frank Sabatini Jr. (December 13, 2010). "Q&A with the man who never lounges". Retrieved December 7, 2014.