The upmarket burger restaurant segment is going through a fresh ‘second wave’ of activity, but how will it compare to the first, asks Mel Flaherty.
The downturn-defying number of new restaurant openings has been reported with wonder by the press, but even more eye-widening is the proportion of these dedicated to the beefburger.
Success in the low-ticket fast-food segment is not a surprise when times are tight, so news that the likes of In-N-Out Burger and Five Guys have ambitions to open in the UK is easy to comprehend, but the latest wave of burger operations is very much at the upper end of this market.
Posh patties
Handmade Burger Company has three more sites lined up, including its first south of Solihull, in Wembley, to add to its existing 14 restaurants; Tommi’s Burger Joint, the concept from Iceland (the country, not the frozen food retailer), is planning five outlets in London over the next couple of years after the opening of its Marylebone site in August; Brgr Co from Lebanon launched its first UK operation in Soho, London, at the end of September, and plans to take this number to three “initially”; Honest Burgers, headed by ex-Côte operations director Dorian Waite, recently opened a unit in Soho to complement its existing Brixton restaurant; and Bukowski Grill, backed by The Real Greek investor Nabil Mankarious, is also now in Brixton, where it opened its second site after the success of its first at Boxpark, Shoreditch. In addition to these, there are a host of quality quick-service burger operators from the US eyeing these shores for expansion, including Fatburger, Smashburger, The Counter and Shake Shack.
And then there are all the pop-ups popping up all over the place, particularly in London. Foodies and restaurateurs alike are now well familiar with the likes of ‘poperators’ Meat Liquor, Dirty Burger and Lucky Chip.
The burger buzz is also being boosted by self-styled connoisseurs who have attracted quite a following with their blogs about the best ground beef in a bun. Most notable are burgerac (www.burgerac.com), the “burger detective”, and food writer Daniel Young at youngandfoodish.com, who invites a different chef to create their take on the perfect burger at his weekly Burger Monday event.
According to Menurama, the analytical database of restaurant menus produced by Horizons, the foodservice consultancy, the beefburger is the top main-course dish across all restaurant categories, including hotels and pubs. However, Peter Backman, Horizons’ managing director, finds it surprising that the appetite for burger-led concepts seems bottomless.
“Certainly there is an issue of premiumisation - over the past couple of years our research has shown increasing mention of the term ‘premium’ as it seems people are prepared to pay for better quality, even in the current difficult climate.
“But the question I have is how these new guys are going to be able to do something different from the existing operators that are successful in this field - namely Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK) and Byron - when there have been others who have attempted to do similar but effectively failed?”
Second-wave success
He has a point. Back in 2008 Covent Garden Restaurants managing director Hugh Fowler closed the remaining two Hamburger Union sites that he retained after selling most of his UK estate to Aberdeen Steak House. At the time he said he may reuse the brand, but, tellingly, that has not been the case so far. Prezzo, too, has withdrawn from the UK burger market, recently announcing it will trial its new concept, Chimi’s Burrito Bar, on the site of its last Ultimate Burger outlet in London’s Tottenham Court Road. Fine Burger, too, has pulled out of high-street burger restaurant operations. While once it had seven restaurants, it now focuses on events and kiosks.
Robert Tame, owner of Fine Burger, says success in the first wave of premium burger restaurant brand expansion that he was part of was down to, ultimately, having enough capital to gain critical mass. It is no surprise, he says, that the two that went on to establish chains with longevity were the then Clapham House Group-backed GBK, which now has 54 restaurants, and, even though they came a few years later to the party, Gondola Group’s Byron, which is opening its 26th site this year.
The difference now, Tame believes, is that the emerging and smaller established brands that are succeeding in this second wave of upscale burger activity are each finding their niche - for example, Bukowski has its charcoal grill and the people behind Goodman now have three sites running as Burger & Lobster offering a unique combination.
“We have found our sweet spot with the event market and quick-service sector,” Tame says. “At a music festival we can expect to do 5,500 servings in a weekend, which is not something many restaurants could do.”
Russel Joffe, co-founder of the Giraffe Restaurant chain, is hopeful he has found the unique selling point for his firm’s fledgling burger business. The firm opened the first Giraffe Burgers & Cocktails at its site in London’s St James’s last year after a trading name issue over the Guerilla Burgers branding it was originally using. A new look for the Burgers & Cocktails brand is now operating at Xscape in Castleford, West Yorkshire, and Joffe says it has great roll-out potential, particularly in leisure locations. A couple more sites are lined up for opening early next year.
The fun emphasis of the menu and service, combined with the quality and value of the offer (average spend per head is circa £10 to £12), is what Joffe thinks will bring success.
Consumer interest in food provenance and quality is cited by some operators as a key reason for the current activity, but Joffe warns there is a danger in putting too much emphasis on meat sourcing in a brand’s communication. After all, he says, if you shout too loudly about only getting your beef from somewhere with a limited supply, you could come unstuck. Giraffe’s beef is from good stock British cattle and Joffe says his brand’s constant attempts to balance quality and value are helped by treating the concept as an overall experience.
“It is more about offering entertainment. If you put too much focus on burgers then if it’s not up to scratch on a single occasion, for any reason, people will be more critical.”
As the pioneer in the premium burger restaurant sector, GBK had been accused by some of starting to look a bit tired in the face of all the fresh activity that’s making this category buzz. Under the ownership of Nando’s Group Holdings, the chain recently announced it is stepping up expansion after a period of consolidation following its 2010 £30.4m purchase from Clapham House Group.
Alasdair Murdoch, GBK’s chief executive, says another five new restaurants will open in the next six months at locations including Brent Cross, Bath and the Metrocentre in Gateshead, followed by “at least seven and probably 10” next year with similar numbers for the next few years. GBK is also rolling out a redesign of its existing units, which aims to move the brand away from a formal restaurant feel to more of a “cool burger bar”. The new look GBK is already in operation at Oxford, Milton Keynes and Fulham and another 10 will get the revamp this year with the whole estate due to be updated over the next five years.
Murdoch says the refurbished stores have enjoyed double-digit sales uplifts. The company is generally looking to drive revenue through increased visits and, to that end, has invested heavily in training and product, while keeping its price point accessible.
As an example, Murdoch says an extra £250,000 is being spent on better quality ice cream for the milk shakes. Menu prices of these has remained the same for more than three years, but the company has sold 50% more since improving the recipe.
The beauty of the burger restaurant, however upmarket, is that even with very good quality ingredients, the popularity, cost (and therefore menu price) of its core menu items are extremely accessible. If the ‘new generation’ of premium burger bar operators can find their niche, there is a good chance they will be here to stay.
