Having Words With: Jon Olinto, co-founder, B.goodHaving Words With: Jon Olinto, co-founder, B.good

Jon Olinto and his lifelong friend Anthony Ackil discussed forming a business together back when they were kids. They tried their hands at a landscaping venture in seventh grade, but that didn’t survive. The pair has had better luck, however, with fast-casual restaurant concept B.good. The first unit opened in Boston in January 2004 and since has grown to nine company locations in and around Boston, specializing in all-natural burgers, hand-cut fries, salads and milk shakes, with a local and seasonal twist.

The company also just kicked off its inaugural franchising push. It debuted its first franchised location in Shrewsbury, Mass., in March and has signed licensing deals with four developers to expand deeper into the New England marketplace over the next five years. Olinto said he and Ackil also expect to open three or four company locations in 2013.

The better-burger business seems pretty competitive right now. A lot of people speculate it’s reaching a saturation point.

I’d say that’s 100-percent right. I think there will be a huge fallout. There’s little differentiation among the players. But B.good looks very different than other burger players. For instance, [beef] burgers only account for 15 percent of total sales, [and] the customer base skews female. We sell a ton of turkey burgers and veggie burgers and a lot of salads.

How do you differentiate yourself from the competition?

It’s all about making real food. It’s about knowing where the food comes from, what’s in it, why it tastes the way it does. We source through local farms — all of our beef comes from a co-op in Maine [and] is raised naturally. We grind the beef fresh every day from whole chuck rolls. And the restaurants tell the customers that story. A customer can come in and read about the guy who grows our corn.

What about seasonality?

We might change a burger or salad or shakes based on seasonal availability. For example, we will have a seasonal burger in August … that includes avocado, bacon and local corn salsa. We’ll also offer a blueberry shake made from local blueberries.

Have you encountered any challenges along the way?

We always had the same vision — it’s always been about “real.food.fast.” But when we first opened, we had a crazy menu that was too complex. We had turkey sandwiches, steak, sesame noodles and other things. We learned that we can’t do everything, … so we pared it back and streamlined it … and built systems around it. Now we just have four proteins — beef, turkey, chicken and veggie burgers — prepared six different ways.

What kind of expansion plans do you have?

We have four franchise groups right now. One plans to open five stores in five years in central Massachusetts. Another will open four stores in four years in and around Hartford, Conn., … as well as five units in New Hampshire. … A third group has a four-unit deal for Maine, and another has a five-unit deal covering Rhode Island and up into southern Massachusetts. We also have a company store opening in Bedford, Mass., in April.

What’s on the horizon for you, personally?

I’m running in the Boston Marathon in April dressed in a hamburger suit. We’ve formed a foundation — the Burger Brigade — to raise money for charity, and this should help kick-start it. We do a lot of community events, … and this allows us to interact with our customers. We give someone a burger suit from B.good if they make a commitment to raise $1,000 for the run. We hope to raise $20,000. The foundation will select three charities to donate the money to.

Editor’s note: Olinto and the Burger Brigade were not among the injured following the Boston Marathon bombings and at press time reported business around Boston was getting back to normal. 

Contact Paul Frumkin at [email protected].
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