BUBBA burger is expanding from the supermarket freezer section to the fast-casual restaurant scene by opening the first Original BUBBA burger GRILL restaurant in Jacksonville, Fla., Tuesday.
Billy Morris, BUBBA burger president and chief executive, said three more fast-casual BUBBA burger GRILL restaurants are under construction in Jacksonville and will open later this summer.
“We have great brand identification,” Morris said while having lunch at the flagship BUBBA restaurant in Jacksonville. “It’s a response from suggestions from customers who wanted to eat a BUBBA burger outside of their homes.”
The BUBBA menu includes nine varieties of the premium BUBBA burger, including the Original, Sweet Onion, Jalapeno, Big BUBBA (a half-pound of beef), Reduced Fat, Mini BUBBA Bites, All Natural and Certified Angus Beef and a new All Natural Turkey BUBBA burger.
Prices range from $5 to $6, with $1.50 added if you want to double your BUBBA burger. With a drink, the average check will be under $10, Morris said.
BUBBA burger is the latest player to enter the competitive burger restaurant category, which includes “better burger” brands such as Five Guys, quick-service titans like McDonald’s and new gourmet burger chains like Square One in Tampa.
“It’s very exciting,” Morris said of entering the burger restaurant field. “It’s a great field and a great category.”
Morris said BUBBA will rely on its national brand awareness to carve out its place in the burger field.
“We’ll be successful carrying over the BUBBA brand from inside the grocery to our branded restaurant,” Morris said.
BUBBA plans to roll out its restaurants nationwide, with Southeast markets the next region for expansion beyond Jacksonville, Morris said. Other restaurants will be located in food courts, airport locations, college campuses and sporting venues.
“There’s no limit how far we can expand,” Morris said.
Contact Alan Snel at [email protected].
Follow him on Twitter: @AlanSnelNRN
