Burger Lounge

Burger Lounge is an American fast casual restaurant chain that specializes in hamburgers made from American grass-fed beef, salads, shakes, French fries and onion rings.[1][2][3] Burger Lounge is headquartered in San Diego, California.[4] In 2007, J. Dean Loring and Michael Gilligan founded the company in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego.[5][6] J. Dean Loring is the President and CEO of Burger Lounge.[1][5][7]

Burger Lounge
Restaurant information
Established2007 (2007)
Owner(s)J. Dean Loring
Food typefast casual
Other locationsSan Diego, California, Los Angeles, California, Orange County, California, Bay Area, California
Websiteburgerlounge.com

History

J. Dean Loring, the son of a butcher, opened three restaurants prior to founding Burger Lounge.[5] Loring established Stars Hamburgers, in Northern California's Humboldt County, in 1989.[8] In 2007, he partnered with Michael Gillian, a bank CFO, to open the first Burger Lounge in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego.[5][9][10] Burger Lounge partnered with Karp Reilly, a private equity firm based in Connecticut, in 2011.[11][12] In 2012, Forbes travel guide included Burger Lounge in its list of "America's 10 Best Burgers".[4] Fastcasual.com ranked the restaurant 21st on its list of "Top 100 Movers and Shakers" in 2012.[7]

In April 2013, Burger Lounge opened its second North County location in San Diego County.[13] That year, the restaurant opened seven locations in the San Diego area and four in the Los Angeles area.[13][14] LA Weekly named the restaurant "Best New Restaurant" in 2013.[15] The restaurant was also voted "Best Burger" by San Diego Magazine in 2014.[16] The restaurant previously received the title in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2012.[17] In 2014, the restaurant group had 13 locations.[7]

Corporate responsibility

The restaurants' food waste is composted, post-industrial packaging is biodegradable, and used cooking oil converted to biofuel is used to power its delivery vehicles.[2][15] In July 2012, the restaurant donated proceeds from sales to local student-run community-supported agriculture (CSA) and school gardening programs. Burger Lounge uses recyclable products and is green certified.[18]

See also

References
  1. "Spotting the next Chipotle: 10 restaurants to watch". Retrieved December 7, 2014.
  2. Emily Saladino (October 1, 2013). "10 Fast-Food Joints That Treat Their Workers Well". Retrieved December 7, 2014.
  3. Garrett Snyder (August 22, 2012). "Burger Lounge: A Lesson in the Classics". Retrieved December 7, 2014.
  4. "10 Great Little Restaurant Chains You Haven't Heard Of -- Yet". Retrieved December 7, 2014.
  5. Candice Woo (April 17, 2013). "J. Dean Loring on Burger Lounge's Beginnings & Future". Retrieved December 7, 2014.
  6. "Burger Lounge Opening 11th California Location". June 17, 2013. Retrieved December 7, 2014.
  7. "2012 Fast Casual Top 100 Movers and Shakers" (PDF). Retrieved December 7, 2014.
  8. Erin Jackson (February 21, 2014). "Grilled: J. Dean Loring of Burger Lounge". Retrieved December 7, 2014.
  9. Aaron Claverie (August 25, 2014). "TEMECULA: Burger Lounge coming to town". Retrieved December 7, 2014.
  10. Gabrielle Karol (March 5, 2013). "Burger Lounge Aims to Stand Out From the Pack". Retrieved December 7, 2014.
  11. Lori Weisberg (June 15, 2014). "Fast-growing "fast casual" food". Retrieved December 4, 2014.
  12. Lisa Jennings (February 14, 2011). "Burger Lounge gets private-equity investment". Retrieved December 7, 2014.
  13. David Garrick (December 30, 2013). "Carlsbad Burger Lounge opens Thursday". Retrieved December 7, 2014.
  14. "Del Mar Opening to Be Burger Lounge's 10th Location". April 17, 2013. Retrieved December 7, 2014.
  15. Karen Pendergrass (June 11, 2013). "Burger Lounge". Retrieved December 7, 2014.
  16. "Gourmet Grassfed Burgers: Burger Lounge Del Mar". Retrieved December 7, 2014.
  17. Erin Jackson (June 9, 2011). "San Diego: Going Beyond Beef at Burger Lounge". Retrieved December 7, 2014.
  18. Frank Sabatini Jr. (December 13, 2010). "Q&A with the man who never lounges". Retrieved December 7, 2014.
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