Baja Fresh owner buys Canyons BurgerBaja Fresh owner buys Canyons Burger

Lisa Jennings

CYPRESS Calif. Baja Fresh Mexican Grill chief executive David Kim, along with a group of investors, has acquired Atlanta-based better-burger concept Canyons Burger Company, with plans to franchise the two-unit chain, officials are expected to announce on Tuesday.

Terms of the deal, which officials said closed recently, were not disclosed.

The acquisition is the first by newly formed company Growth Concepts, which is led by Kim and described as a “new restaurant incubator” designed to “find and develop today’s hot new restaurant companies into tomorrow’s strategic brands.”

Kim also was the principal behind the 2006 purchase of Baja Fresh from Wendy’s International for $31 million, as well as the La Salsa Fresh Mexican Grill chain, acquired from CKE Restaurants Inc. a few months later. He also owns the Anaheim, Calif.-based candy shop company Sweet Factory, as well as a Cinnabon franchise operation called CinnaWorks.

Canyons Burger was founded last year by Nick Binnings and Sonny Crumpton, two former executives of Atlanta-based Raving Brands, an Atlanta-based multi-concept franchisor. Crumpton’s father, Mark Crumpton, is also an investor and founder in the concept.

Following the acquisition, Kim holds the title of chief executive of Canyons Burger. Sonny Crumpton is president and Binnings is chief operating officer, with Mark Crumpton as head of brand development and franchise sales.

Binnings said the sale to Growth Concepts was necessary to open doors for the brand’s planned franchise growth, especially at a time when fast-casual premium burger concepts have grown dramatically in recent years.

“We knew we’d get flooded in our market, and that financing and qualified franchisees would be harder to find,” Binnings said. “We knew we’d need a strong horsepower behind us. No one’s going to buy in to some young guys’ brand without that platform behind us. But I think now that Baja Fresh is involved, it’s really going to open doors.”

Competitors for Canyons Burger include established chains including In-N-Out Burger, Five Guys, Smashburger, Fatburger and The Counter, not to mention the premium burgers now being offered by fast feeders such as McDonald’s, Burger King, Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s. Fine dining operators also are jumping into the better-burger game, including Bobby Flay, Marcus Samuelsson, Laurent Tourondel, Hubert Keller, and Danny Meyer.

Canyons Burger is a concept that focuses on a short menu of never frozen, 100-percent Black Angus burgers, as well as hand-battered chicken tenders cooked to order, a turkey burger, chicken salad and a spicy black bean vegetarian option.

The restaurants have an active outdoorsy theme with the motto “Play Hard, Eat Well.” Televisions in the units show outdoor sports, according to the company’s website, and the chain is active in supporting local school athletic programs.

Though only open about 18 months, the Canyons Burger units have an average unit volume of $850,000, said Binnings, and the company foresees the potential for $1-million-plus averages at units that range in size from 1,800 square feet to 2,400 square feet. The units tally an average check of about $8.50, and the chain aims for end-cap locations with no drive thru, Billings added.

He said sales are up about 13 percent year-over-year, despite the tough operating economic climate.

Binnings said a third Canyons Burger Company is in the works in Atlanta, though officials haven’t decided whether it will be corporate owned or the first franchised unit. He estimated franchise start-up costs to be about $450,000.

Binnings also created and then sold in 2004 the four-unit Hero’s All American Grill burger concept in New Orleans. He moved to Atlanta to work for Raving Brands founder Martin Sprock, where he met Sonny Crumpton, who was involved in building the Moe’s Southwest Grill and Planet Smoothie concepts, both of which Raving Brands later sold.

Contact Lisa Jennings at [email protected].