Checkers debuts 6 new burgersCheckers debuts 6 new burgers

Ron Ruggless

Checkers Drive-In Restaurants Inc. said it has introduced six new burger varieties in its South Florida stores that it plans to roll out nationally this summer.

The 820-unit Checkers calls the new burgers, available now at 18 units in Palm Beach and Broward counties, the “Flavor Built Menu.” One of the six, the new Double Built Bacon Cheddar Works burger will be available for $2.99 for a limited time.

“The intense flavors in our Flavor Built Burgers are what you would expect to find at a sit-down restaurant, except without the wait and at a lower price," Rick Silva, Checkers’ chief executive, said in a statement.

Checkers' Flavor Built Burgers are offered in single-, double- or triple-patty versions. A corporate spokesman said the price for a single-patty Flavor Built Burger started at $3.29, and an employee at a Palm Beach location said a triple could go to $8. Besides the Cheddar Works, the other five new burgers are:

- A.1. Prime Time Steakhouse, with garlic Parmesan butter, grilled onions, cheddar cheese and A.1. Thick & Hearty Steak Sauce

- Backwoods B-B-Q, with peppered bacon, fried onion rings, ranch dressing, cheddar cheese and barbecue sauce

- Baconzilla, with four times the usual bacon, American cheese, and cheddar-cheese sauce

- Savory Shroom & Swiss, with sauteed portobello mushrooms, grilled onions and Swiss cheese

- Spicy Queso Bueno, with crisp jalapenos, fried onion rings, cheddar-cheese sauce and fajita-grilled onions

Checkers' new burger lineup comes on the heels of a report by The NPD Group suggesting that fast-food operators are introducing higher-ticket premium products to divert customers away from the steep discounts they offered during the recession. Burger King, for example, has debuted premium Steakhouse XT burgers and Fire-Grilled Ribs as rival McDonald's continues to promote its Angus Third Pounder line.

Contact Ron Ruggless at [email protected].